Sweet potato, Avocado & Lentil Barley Salad
Salads? Heck yeah! Contrary to popular belief, there's more to salads than a bunch of leafy greens. I myself used to never eat salads because I though they tasted gross and was just a bunch of grass mixed together (don't judge me haha). All of this has changed since taking on a plant-based diet and my knowledge about the vast kinds of salads out there has increased. I know, I know, I'm getting a bit cray cray about a salad- but come on, I'm a healthy foodie and salads = veggies + grains and that is the equivalent to a match made in heaven. The recipe below was pretty much whatever I had at hand and oh my, it was so much better than I expected. It includes a grain that I'm becoming more and more obsessed with - pearl barley. Pearl Barley kind of tastes like brown rice but it's much harder in texture and has a more nuttier flavour. It's seen as a 'nutrition powerhouse' being high in fiber which is known is to prevent cardiovascular disease and diabetes and it's also high in protein needed to build and repair body tissues which have been worn out. The salad was so simple to make and I seriously could have eaten the whole bowl in one siting! You'll find the recipe below.
Ingredients:
- 1 400g can of lentils
- 2 small sweet potatos or one large sweet potato, cubed
- 2 avocados, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1 cup of pearl barley
- 1 tbsp of olive oil for frying
For the dressing:
- 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- sprinkle of pepper
Method:
1. Rinse barley and place it in a pot with three cups of water and bring to the boil. Once it reaches boiling point, reduce to a simmer and cover for about 35-40 mins, stirring occasionally. Once the barley is cooked, drain any excess liquid, turn off heat and leave it to cool.
2. Meanwhile, add olive oil to a pan on low heat and add the sweet potato. Leave the sweet potato in the pan for about 5-10 mins until the edges begin to brown and it is cooked on the inside (you can check if it's cooked by placing a fork in one of the sweet potato pieces and if it's soft enough to place the fork in, then it's cooked). Once it's cooked, turn off heat.
3. To make the dressing, combine all dressing ingredients into a small bowl.
4. Then add the avocado, lentils, sweet potato, and barley into a large bowl and combine it with the dressing. Leave it in the fridge for at least an hour. Enjoy!
- 1 400g can of lentils
- 2 small sweet potatos or one large sweet potato, cubed
- 2 avocados, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1 cup of pearl barley
- 1 tbsp of olive oil for frying
For the dressing:
- 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- sprinkle of pepper
Method:
1. Rinse barley and place it in a pot with three cups of water and bring to the boil. Once it reaches boiling point, reduce to a simmer and cover for about 35-40 mins, stirring occasionally. Once the barley is cooked, drain any excess liquid, turn off heat and leave it to cool.
2. Meanwhile, add olive oil to a pan on low heat and add the sweet potato. Leave the sweet potato in the pan for about 5-10 mins until the edges begin to brown and it is cooked on the inside (you can check if it's cooked by placing a fork in one of the sweet potato pieces and if it's soft enough to place the fork in, then it's cooked). Once it's cooked, turn off heat.
3. To make the dressing, combine all dressing ingredients into a small bowl.
4. Then add the avocado, lentils, sweet potato, and barley into a large bowl and combine it with the dressing. Leave it in the fridge for at least an hour. Enjoy!