Slow-cooked tomato and fennel stew with pearl barley
Ingredients
150g
pearl barley
400ml
vegetable stock
2 x 400g
cannellini beans
600g
fennel
100g
black olives
2
garlic cloves
2
bay leaves
½ tbsp
olive oil
8
tomatoes on the vine
30g
fresh basil
2½ tbsp
olive oil
½ tbsp
lemon juice
15g
pine nuts
to taste
sea salt
to taste
black pepper
Instructions
STEP 1
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
STEP 2
Place the pearl barley, stock, cannellini beans, fennel, olives, garlic, bay leaves, and oil in a casserole dish. Stir to combine. Place the tomatoes on top, cover tightly, and cook for 1 hour.
STEP 3
Meanwhile, to make the basil and pine nut dressing, mix together the basil, oil, sea salt, lemon juice, and pine nuts in a small bowl. Set aside.
STEP 4
Let the stew stand for 10 minutes. Lift the tomatoes onto a plate and stir half of the dressing into the stew. Add more salt, pepper, and lemon juice if needed. Return the tomatoes to the dish.
STEP 5
Drizzle over the remaining dressing and serve immediately.