Barley with Roasted Portobello Mushrooms, Peppers and Halloumi

During the week’s first bout of sunshine, I went a little overboard shopping for fresh produce. The colors! The textures! Everything was just so fresh and bright.

Have you ever seen Supermarket Sweep? That game show from the ’90s where contestants ran through the grocery store filling their carts with everything they could grab? It was sort of like that, except I was at a farm market and then Wegman’s. Not quite as frenzied as , but before I knew it my little wicker basket was full and the cashier was asking me for $50. What did I buy?

Organic kale, a fennel bulb, organic yellow beets, radishes, a knobbly celery root (ugly but delicious), leeks, kumquats (FINALLY), two kinds of raspberries (imported, I know), portobello mushroom caps, three colors of bell peppers, little tomatoes and a “graffiti” eggplant, speckled with deep purple and white.

I was floating. Perhaps I’m the only one who gets legitimately excited about a bag full of vegetables…but judging by the feedback on this Web site, I’d say that’s not so.

Spring is nearly here and I’m craving fresh fresh fresh. I want big bright leafy greens. Juicy vegetables that crunch when you bite into them. I want outdoor dining.

This meal was the perfect thing, cooked during a celebratory dinner party this weekend. A handful of girlfriends came over and we cooked, drank and ate the night away…while occasionally squealing about a certain newspaper article.

I suggest you try it right away.

Barley with Roasted Portobello Mushrooms, Peppers and Halloumi

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

1 cup dried barley

100g halloumi cheese

1 portobello mushroom cap

1 yellow pepper, sliced into thin strips

1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

2 tbsp basil pesto

olive oil

freshly chopped chives

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 F/180 C. Wash mushroom cap and cut into long 1/2″ thick pieces. Toss with sliced peppers and tomatoes, drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Cut halloumi into several 1/4″ slices.

Spread vegetables and cheese out onto one layer a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes, until tender. Flip halloumi halfway through, to brown each side.

Cook barley according to package directions (usually requires about 30-40 minutes of boiling). After water has fully cooked out, stir in the two tablespoons of fresh pesto.

Once vegetables are finished cooking, set aside to cool slightly. Once halloumi has cooled and firmed slightly, cut each piece into long thin strips.

To assemble, spoon pesto barley onto plates, then top with roasted vegetables and halloumi strips. Garnish with freshly chopped chives.