PEARL PASTA RECIPE RECIPES

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4.
2. In a large pan, cover the pearl barley with plenty of cold water and leave to soak.
3. Put a large casserole pan on a medium-high heat with 1 tablespoon of oil and the whole pickled onions. Peel and quarter the regular onion, then pull the quarters apart into petals and add to the pan.
4. Stir regularly while you wash and trim the carrots and celery and slice both ½cm thick at an angle. Stir them into the pan, then strip in the thyme leaves.
5. Cook and stir for 10 minutes, while you peel the swede and chop it into 3cm chunks, and finely chop the dried porcini. Stir both into the pan, then slice the beef 3cm thick and add that, too.
6. After a couple of minutes, pour in the stock and Guinness. Bring up to a simmer, cover with a scrunched sheet of wet greaseproof paper, and cook in the oven for 1 hour.
7. Remove the paper, then cook the stew for another hour, or until the meat is tender.
8. Drain the pearl barley and re-cover with boiling water, then cook according to the packet instructions.
9. Pick through your greens, discarding any tough stalks, and steam in a colander or sieve above the pearl barley for the last 10 minutes.
10. Reserving a little cooking water, drain the pearl barley and return it to the pan, grate over the cheese, add the English mustard and a splash of the reserved water, and mix together.
11. Taste the stew and season to perfection, then serve up with the mustard pearl barley and the freshly steamed greens on the side.

1. Cook the pearl barley according to the packet instructions, then drain.
2. Wash the squash, then carefully cut it in half lengthways and remove the seeds. Peel the onions and garlic, and deseed the peppers. Chop the squash, onions and peppers into 1cm dice. Finely chop the garlic with the coriander stalks (reserving the leaves).
3. Place it all in a pan on a medium-low heat with 2 tablespoons of oil, the chilli flakes, fennel and cumin seeds, and the ground coriander. Sweat with a lid on for 25 to 30 minutes, or until soft but not coloured, stirring occasionally.
4. Destone the dates and finely chop the flesh with the apricots and coriander leaves. Fold into the veg pan with the drained pearl barley, squeeze in the lemon juice, season to perfection, then leave to cool.
5. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.
6. Lay out two clean damp tea towels on a large work surface, side-by-side, with the longest edges facing you. Working quickly but taking care, lay out 3 sheets of filo side-by-side with the short edges towards you, overlapping each one by 2.5cm and brushing between the overlaps with water.
7. Lightly brush the sheets with oil, place 3 filo sheets directly on top, then repeat with another 3 sheets. Save the remaining sheet for patching up.
8. As evenly as possible, spoon your filling in a line along the long edge closest to you. Brush the opposite long edge with a little oil.
9. Now, I’d recommend finding a friend to help you roll it up. Working slowly and carefully, use the tea towels to help you roll it up and away from you into a giant cigar, keeping it on the damp tea towel at all times. Roll it into a large pinwheel, working quickly but handling it gently to avoid too many cracks.
10. Gently slide it onto a large greased baking tray, and patch up any gaps, if needed. Brush all over with more oil and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until gorgeous, crisp and golden.
11. Ten minutes before the end, smash and sprinkle over the pistachios and an extra pinch of each of the spices, if you like.
12. Serve with a super-light dusting of icing sugar. Delicious with all the usual trimmings, or served with a spiced tomato sauce.

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C fan.

2. Working in batches, put the first six ingredients into a food processor and pulse until everything is very finely chopped (or very finely chop everything by hand if you don’t have a food processor).

3. Put the chopped vegetables into a large, 36cm x 28cm non-stick high-sided baking tray with the oil, miso, harissa, tomato paste, soy sauce and cumin seeds and mix very well. Bake for 40 minutes, stirring halfway through, until browned around the edges and bubbling.

4. Reduce the heat to 180°C fan.

5. Add all the remaining ingredients to the tray, along with 150ml of water, ⅓ teaspoon of salt and a very generous grind of black pepper. Stir very well, scraping the crispy sides and bottom with a spatula. Cover tightly with foil and bake for another 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for a final 5 minutes. Set aside to rest for 15 minutes for the sauce to be absorbed a little before serving.

1. Cook the pearl barley according to the packet instructions, then drain.
2. Wash the squash, then carefully cut it in half lengthways and remove the seeds. Peel the onions and garlic, and deseed the peppers. Chop the squash, onions and peppers into 1cm dice. Finely chop the garlic with the coriander stalks (reserving the leaves).
3. Place it all in a pan on a medium-low heat with 2 tablespoons of oil, the chilli flakes, fennel and cumin seeds, and the ground coriander. Sweat with a lid on for 25 to 30 minutes, or until soft but not coloured, stirring occasionally.
4. Destone the dates and finely chop the flesh with the apricots and coriander leaves. Fold into the veg pan with the drained pearl barley, squeeze in the lemon juice, season to perfection, then leave to cool.
5. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.
6. Lay out two clean damp tea towels on a large work surface, side-by-side, with the longest edges facing you. Working quickly but taking care, lay out 3 sheets of filo side-by-side with the short edges towards you, overlapping each one by 2.5cm and brushing between the overlaps with water.
7. Lightly brush the sheets with oil, place 3 filo sheets directly on top, then repeat with another 3 sheets. Save the remaining sheet for patching up.
8. As evenly as possible, spoon your filling in a line along the long edge closest to you. Brush the opposite long edge with a little oil.
9. Now, I’d recommend finding a friend to help you roll it up. Working slowly and carefully, use the tea towels to help you roll it up and away from you into a giant cigar, keeping it on the damp tea towel at all times. Roll it into a large pinwheel, working quickly but handling it gently to avoid too many cracks.
10. Gently slide it onto a large greased baking tray, and patch up any gaps, if needed. Brush all over with more oil and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until gorgeous, crisp and golden.
11. Ten minutes before the end, smash and sprinkle over the pistachios and an extra pinch of each of the spices, if you like.
12. Serve with a super-light dusting of icing sugar. Delicious with all the usual trimmings, or served with a spiced tomato sauce.

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C fan.

2. Working in batches, put the first six ingredients into a food processor and pulse until everything is very finely chopped (or very finely chop everything by hand if you don’t have a food processor).

3. Put the chopped vegetables into a large, 36cm x 28cm non-stick high-sided baking tray with the oil, miso, harissa, tomato paste, soy sauce and cumin seeds and mix very well. Bake for 40 minutes, stirring halfway through, until browned around the edges and bubbling.

4. Reduce the heat to 180°C fan.

5. Add all the remaining ingredients to the tray, along with 150ml of water, ⅓ teaspoon of salt and a very generous grind of black pepper. Stir very well, scraping the crispy sides and bottom with a spatula. Cover tightly with foil and bake for another 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for a final 5 minutes. Set aside to rest for 15 minutes for the sauce to be absorbed a little before serving.