This dish evolved from an occasion when all the cooks and producers of the Barossa put on a picnic for some 80 members of the media for one of the early Tasting Australia festivals. Each cook was paired with a producer and had to cook a dish for up to 40 people, depending on whether it was an accompaniment or the ‘main game’. I worked with the Schmidt family, the local carrot producers at the time, and in huge pans cooked blanched young carrots in extra virgin olive oil and butter and deglazed with verjuice. That simple dish was a great hit and I’ve extended it here by adding a barley salad with lots of currants and herbs tossed through. I often have small amounts of barley, lentils or chickpeas left over from another dish and they are a great addition to almost any salad.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons dried currants
- 3 tablespoons verjuice
- ½ cup (100 g) raw pearl barley
- 1½ cups (375 ml) chicken or vegetable stock or water
- Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 bunches young Dutch carrots (about 16), rinsed and tops trimmed to about 2 cm
- 60 g unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 3 tablespoons chopped mint
- ½ cup (100 g) crumbled Persian feta or fresh curd
- Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- Place the currants and verjuice in a small bowl and stand for at least 45 minutes to rehydrate. Overnight is ideal.
- Place the barley in a saucepan with the stock or water and bring to the boil over medium–high heat. Reduce the heat to low, then cover and simmer for 40–50 minutes or until tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Remove from the heat and stand for 5 minutes. Season to taste.
- Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to the boil over high heat. Add the carrots and cook for 3–5 minutes or until just half cooked. To check if the carrots are ready, remove one from the boiling water and slide a clean cloth over it – the skin should come away easily. When ready, drain the carrots and remove the skin with the cloth while the carrots are still warm. If the carrots are really fresh then leave the skins on. Allow to cool.
- Heat the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat until melted and beginning to sizzle. Add the carrots, then increase the heat to high and cook for 3–5 minutes or until the carrots are tender and the butter is nut brown. Drain the currants, then add the verjuice to the pan and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and season.
- Combine the barley, currants, parsley and mint in a large bowl. Divide among serving plates, top with the carrots and scatter the feta over the top. Drizzle with a final flourish of olive oil and serve.
