Black barley, wild rice, candied almonds, barberry and marinated chèvre

Name: Black barley, wild rice, candied almonds, barberry and marinated chevre
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: Modern Australian
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; 1½ tbsp caster sugar; 1 tsp rosewater, or to taste; 50 gm slivered almonds

Recipe for black barley, wild rice, candied almonds, barberry and marinated chèvre by Sean McConnell from Monster in Canberra.

Aug 16, 2015 2:00pm

By Sean McConnell

Serves 6
25 mins preparation
45 mins cooking

Black barley, wild rice, candied almonds, barberry and marinated chèvre

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

1
For 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.
2
Meanwhile, 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.
3
Heat 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.
4
Toss 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.