Barley Lentil Dinner with Walnut Gremolata

This barley lentil dinner is a simple recipe made somewhat sophisticated by the addition of walnut gremolata and roasted tomatoes on the vine. It’s also very garlicky. If you love garlic as much as we do, this is a very fine thing.

Meals that are ready in five minutes are all well and good. In fact they’re very much needed sometimes. But when you’re in need of something wholesome and nutritious to boost those energy levels, something like this barley lentil dinner is just perfect.

Garlic

We’ve been growing our own garlic now for fifteen years. We’ve kept the same variety going all that time and I’m very proud of it. Our garlic produces plump flavoursome cloves and we grow enough to last us all year.

Now we’ve moved I’m a bit concerned that we might lose it. The end of October or beginning of November is the time for planting garlic, but we don’t have the garden in any kind of state to do it yet. Eek!

One of the many good things about gremolata is that it’s an easy and delicious way to get raw garlic into your diet. Garlic is really good for you, but I understand it’s best if you eat a mix of both raw and cooked garlic. It’s easy to get cooked garlic, but raw is trickier.

Gremolata

I’ve been meaning to try gremolata for many years, but it wasn’t until recently I finally got around to it. Gremolata is a fresh and zesty Italian finale to a dish and adds that extra bit of pizazz that’s sometimes needed.

Classically, it’s made with parsley, garlic and lemon zest all finely chopped and mixed together. Here, I’ve added some chopped roasted walnuts, just because I had a surplus of walnuts. But wow, they were a good addition.

Barley Lentil Dinner

Simple rustic recipes or peasant dishes are probably my favourite type of cuisine. They are generally seasonal, use basic ingredients and can taste exquisite. I don’t promise this barley lentil dinner will be the best thing you’ve ever eaten, but it’s simple to prepare, nutritious and tasty.

The lentils are dressed with little more than olive oil and lemon juice and then served with barley. I’ve included a carrot here, just because I had one floating around that looked as though it needed eating. But it was a good addition.

I used green lentils for this dish, but go with whatever whole lentils you have in the cupboard. Black beluga lentils or Puy lentils are particularly good. If you’ve forgotten to soak the lentils overnight, use a tin instead. Just drain the liquid off and rinse the lentils before adding to the pan.

Adding roasted tomatoes gives colour and makes the flavour profile more interesting. An Italian flourish of walnut gremolata makes the whole dish more sophisticated and complex. This barley lentil dinner also has the advantage of being dairy-free and thus vegan.

Other Barley Recipes You Might Like

• Barley bowl with spiced aubergine, chickpeas and tomatoes via Tin and Thyme
• Pearl barley risotto with butternut squash via Supper in the Suburbs
• Pumpkin stew with borlotti beans, cavolo nero and barley via Tin And Thyme
• Roasted vegetable and barley salad with creamy tahini dressing via Family, Friends, Food

Keep in Touch

Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this barley lentil dinner recipe, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate the recipe. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.

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If you’d like more vegan recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious and nutritious, of course.

Choclette x

Barley Lentil Dinner. PIN IT.

 Barley Lentil Dinner – The Recipe

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5 from 2 votes

Barley Lentil Dinner

A simple vegan supper made somewhat sophisticated by the addition of walnut gremolata and roasted tomatoes on the vine.

Cook ModeToggle to keep screen awake

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time50 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: British

Keyword: barley, gremolata, lentils, tomatoes, vegan, walnuts

Servings: 2 people

Calories: 623kcal

Author: Choclette @ Tin and Thyme

Ingredients

• 100 g barley cooked in water
• 100 g whole green lentils
• 1 carrot julienned
• 2 clove garlic finely chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil divided
• good squeeze of lemon juice
• 1 tsp tamari (affiliate link)
• 2-4 drops chilli sauce
• 10 tomatoes on the vine
• 1 pinch sea salt

Gremolata

• 30 g walnuts toasted and finely chopped
• small bunch of parsley finely chopped
• 1 large clove garlic finely chopped
• 1 organic lemon zested

Metric – US Customary

Instructions

• Soak the lentils overnight and wash well.
  100 g whole green lentils
• Rinse the barley then cover with double the volume of water. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for about 30 minutes or until tender. Check the water towards the end of cooking time to ensure the barley doesn’t burn.
  100 g barley
• Place the lentils in a covered pan with the bay leaf and just enough water to cover. Bring to the boil then simmer gently for 20 minutes or until just tender. Check the water towards the end of cooking time to ensure the lentils don’t burn.
  1 bay leaf
• After 10 minutes or so, add the carrots and garlic.
  1 carrot, 2 clove garlic
• Meanwhile roast the tomatoes in a tbsp of olive oil with the sea salt at 200℃ (180℃ fan, 400℉, Gas 6) for 10 to 15 minutes.
  2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 10 tomatoes on the vine, 1 pinch sea salt
• Stir a tbsp of olive oil, the lemon juice, tamari and chilli sauce into the lentils just before serving.
  good squeeze of lemon juice, 1 tsp tamari (affiliate link), 2-4 drops chilli sauce
• Serve the lentils on top of the barley together with the tomatoes.
• Combine all the gremolata ingredients then scatter over the top.
  30 g walnuts, small bunch of parsley, 1 large clove garlic, 1 organic lemon

Notes

Lentils can be cooked unsoaked, but they will require more water and take much longer to cook. You can also soak the barley overnight to reduce cooking time.

To serve more, double or triple the quantities.

Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per serving. They’re approximate and will depend on exact ingredients used. Please refer to my nutrition disclaimer for further information.

Nutrition Estimate

Calories: 623kcal | Carbohydrates: 80g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Sodium: 262mg | Potassium: 1126mg | Fiber: 28g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 7547IU | Vitamin C: 73mg | Calcium: 132mg | Iron: 8mg

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I’m sharing my barley lentil dinner with #CookBlogShare over at Everyday Healthy Recipes.