Festive Grain Salad | The Dinner Ladies

HERE'S HOW WE MAKE IT

This makes a great addition to a modern Australian Christmas table - it's colourful, festive and would make a wonderful vegetarian or vegan Christmas dinner along with the Christmas-spiced vegie filo pie and the stuffing balls.

It's a chewy, nutty mixture of pearl barley and Puy lentils, studded with colourful cranberries, toasted seeds and nuts and masses of fresh herbs, inspired by George Calombaris's Cypriot grain salad but with a few extra twists and flourishes of our own. We'll be cooking the grains and pulses, making the dressing and toasting the nuts and seeds but we'll supply the herbs as a bundle for you to pluck, keeping them fresh and green till the last minute.

INGREDIENTS

Pearl barley, Puy lentils, pepitas, sunflower seeds, slivered almonds, spring onions, parsley, coriander, preserved lemon, dried cranberries, salt, cumin, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil.

ALLERGENS

CONTAINS:

Tree Nuts, Gluten.

MAY CONTAIN TRACES OF:

Peanuts, Dairy, Shellfish, Fish, Sesame, Soy, Egg, Lupin.

PLEASE NOTE:

While we make every effort to ensure dishes are free of cross-contamination, our kitchen is not allergen free.

NUTRITION

	SMALL	LARGE
ENERGY	3073.9kj	6167.8kj
PROTEIN	23g	46g
FAT TOTAL	30g	60g
- SATURATED	4g	8g
CARBS	82.9g	165.8g
- SUGARS	20.6g	51.2g
SODIUM	1035.5mg	2071mg

SIZES

Small:

Serves 4 as a side.

Large:

Serves 6-8 as a side.

GOES WITH

Pretty much anything else on the Christmas menu. You could add grilled halloumi and pomegranate seeds and a handful of rocket or baby spinach if you'd like.

PREP, COOK AND SERVE

Fresh product, not suitable for freezing.

Allow the salad to come to room temperature. Pluck and roughly chop the coriander and parsley and finely slice the white parts of the spring onions. Mix everything together with the sachet of dressing, taste for seasoning and serve, sprinkled with pomegranate seeds (not supplied). You can also toss through some extra rocket or baby spinach.