RECIPE: Barley Salad With Roasted Vegetables, Feta And Rocket

Looking for a tasty recipe that won’t derail your health goals? We’ve teamed up with fitness guru Andrew Sweeney to bring you a Six Week Summer Shred, complete with meal plans, recipes and workouts. This week’s featured recipe is a delicious barley salad, easy enough to throw together on a weeknight. Check out Andrew’s full seven-day meal plan here, and read his incredible transformation story here.

Barley Salad with roasted vegetables, feta and rocket (served hot or cold)

- Serves: 4 - Time: 40 minutes Ingredients: 3 tablespoons of olive oil Olive oil cooking spray 1 + ¼ cup of barley 2 aubergines 4 bell peppers 2 large courgettes ¾ cup of cubed feta (approx 100g) 3 handfuls of rocket Salt and freshly ground black pepper Method: Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius (180 degrees for fan assisted). Prep the veg by cutting the tops and tails off and chopping them into chunks (1x1 inch). Add to a large bowl and pour in 2 tablespoons of oil and mix to coat (you may need two bowls so use 1 tablespoon of oil per bowl). Tip: You can add the veg to a large zip lock bag and add the oil. Shake the bag to ensure an even coat of oil. Season with salt and pepper. Spray 2 large baking trays with olive oil cooking spray and spread the vegetables out on them evenly. Roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until they go slightly brown. To cook the barley, bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Add the barley and cook according to the packet instructions (you can buy quick cook barley that takes 10 minutes). Once cooked, turn off the heat and strain the water out using a sieve. Add it back into the pot to cool a little. Get a large bowl and add the barley and vegetables when they are finished in the oven. Add the feta, rocket and 1 tablespoon of oil. Season with a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Mix everything together and serve. This dish is great hot or cold. The leftovers can be put into a tupperware and will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days.