Ingredients

• 350g barley rinsed
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 4 large gold beetroot (approx 1kg), lightly roasted then cut into thin wedges
• 3-4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 400g asparagus, blanched for 2-5mins then trimmed and cut into 2.5cm pieces
• 1 cup walnuts, toasted
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Lemon brown butter:

• 120g unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup sage leaves
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 small garlic clove, very finely chopped
• 3/4 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• Sea salt

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200 deg C.
2. Add barley and crushed garlic to a saucepan of boiling salted water and cook for 20mins or until tender. Drain.
3. Place the beetroot on a large baking tray, drizzle over 1-2tsp of olive oil and season with salt.
4. Roast for 25-30mins until tender.
5. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan then add asparagus and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 mins until just tender but still bright green in colour.
6. To make the lemon brown butter, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat then add sage leaves and swirl around in the butter until they begin to crisp.
7. Remove sage leaves from the pan, sprinkle with a little salt and leave to drain on absorbent paper towel.
8. Continue to heat the butter until it is browned and smells nutty, then remove from heat and leave to cool slightly.
9. Carefully whisk in lemon juice, garlic, mustard and maple syrup and add a pinch of salt.
10. Combine the barley, beetroot and asparagus, drizzle over a little olive oil and season well with salt and pepper.
11. Arrange on a large serving dish and spoon over the lemon brown butter.
12. To serve, sprinkle with the crispy sage leaves and walnuts.

Tip: for a healthier option simply swap the sauce out for crumbled marinated fetta tossed through the barley, asparagus, beetroot and walnuts (as pictured above).