This recipe is so easy you can even make it if you’ve had a couple wines or brewskies. For a Gluten-free option, skip the pearl barley and just use beans. As most of Em’s recipes are, this is also Vegan.

You will need:

• 200g pearl barley
• 300g mixed dried beans (any mixture will do)
• 3 large potatoes, scrubbed but not peeled, and diced into med-sized chunks
• 400g tin crushed tomato
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 6-8 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 head broccoli, flowers and stalks, sliced
• 4-6 c fresh silver beet, chopped
• 2 T. olive oil
• Spices: about 1 tsp of each or to taste – crushed salt, cracked pepper, cayenne pepper, turmeric, dill seed, dried chives. You can add any other spices that you may like. A bayleaf might be a good idea too.

Process:

1. Soak pearl barley and beans all day (to cook this meal in the evening), drain and rinse several times then cover with fresh water, simmer in a big pot on low-med heat
2. Prepare your onion, garlic, and vegetables (wash them and get chopping!)
3. At this stage you can dump the potatoes into the bean mixture and continue to simmer
4. Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil
5. Add the spices
6. Once yummy-looking add the broccoli and heat through
7. Dump the saute concoction into the bean/potato concoction. Stir with some energy!
8. Dump in crushed tomato
9. Mix in the silver beet and cook through, give it another good stir. Once the silver beet has gone all limp you know it’s pretty much done.
10. Taste-test. If it needs more salt, spice or whatever add it.

This makes 5-6 hearty portions. And it’s so healthy (high in vegetable-based protein, fibre, vitamins, minerals, carbohydrate and low in fat) there’s no need to worry about the nutirtional content. You pretty much can’t go wrong with this recipe. Bon appetite!