Black barley, wild rice, candied almonds, barberry and marinated chèvre
Recipe for black barley, wild rice, candied almonds, barberry and marinated chèvre by Sean McConnell from Monster in Canberra.
- Serves 6
- 25 mins preparation
- 45 mins cooking

Ingredients
- 200 gm black barley
- 250 gm wild rice
- For deep-frying: vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp dried barberries
- 2 tbsp sumac
- To taste: olive oil
- Juice and finely grated rind of 1½ lemons, or to taste
- 100 gm marinated chèvre or goat’s curd
- 2 tbsp dried rose petals
Candied almonds
- 1½ tbsp caster sugar
- 1 tsp rosewater, or to taste
- 50 gm slivered almonds
Method
Main
- 1For candied almonds, preheat oven to 180C and line a baking tray with baking paper. Stir sugar, a splash of rosewater and 2 tbsp water in a saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. Add almonds, stir to coat, then tip onto tray and bake, stirring occasionally, until lightly caramelised (10-12 minutes). Set aside.
- 2Meanwhile, place barley and 1 litre cold salted water in a saucepan and 200gm wild rice and 1 litre cold salted water in another saucepan. Bring both to the boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to medium and simmer until tender but not falling apart (20-30 minutes). Drain and set aside.
- 3Heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan to 200C. Add remaining wild rice and fry until puffed (20-30 seconds; be careful, hot oil will spit as the grains puff up). Remove with a metal sieve and drain on paper towels.
- 4Toss barley and wild rice with barberries, sumac, a splash of olive oil, and lemon juice and rind, and season to taste. Crumble marinated chèvre or spoon goat’s curd into a serving bowl or onto a platter, arrange the salad on top, scatter with rose petals, candied almonds and puffed wild rice and serve.
Notes
Drink Suggestion: 2014 Ravensworth “The Grainery”, a marsanne-roussanne-viognier blend. Drink suggestion by Michael Gray