Barley, Mackerel & Cucumber Salad

📝 Ingredients

• 150 g pearl barley
• 1 tin of mackerel fillets in brine (125 g drained)
• 3 eggs
• ½ cucumber (about 150 g)
• 6 radishes (about 80 g)
• 10 g fresh dill
• 150 g 2% Greek yoghurt
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• ½ unwaxed lemon (zest and juice)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Large saucepan
• Small saucepan
• Colander
• Mixing bowl
• Bowl
• Cutting board and knife

📖 Steps

1. Rinse the pearl barley in a sieve under cold water, then tip it into a large pan of boiling salted water. Cook for 30 to 35 min over a medium heat, at a gentle boil, until the grains are tender but still slightly firm to the bite.
2. Meanwhile, gently lower the eggs with a spoon into a small pan of boiling water and cook for 10 min over a medium heat. Plunge them straight into a bowl of very cold water: they'll peel more easily and the yolks won't turn green.
3. Drain the barley, rinse it under cold water to stop the cooking and remove the excess starch, then shake it well. Tip it into the salad bowl, drizzle with olive oil, mix and leave to cool for 10 min: the grains will stay nicely separate.
4. Halve the cucumber lengthways, scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon (they would release water), then cut it into small dice. Wash the radishes, trim the ends and slice them into thin rounds. Finely chop the dill.
5. Make the dressing in a bowl: mix the Greek yoghurt, mustard, the grated zest and juice of the half lemon, half the dill, salt and pepper. Taste: the dressing should be well seasoned, as the barley will mellow it.
6. Drain the mackerel, then flake it into large chunks with a fork, removing the skin and any bones. Peel the eggs under a trickle of cold water and cut them into quarters.
7. Add the cucumber, radishes and dressing to the salad bowl, then mix to coat the barley well. Gently place the mackerel and eggs on top, without stirring too much so they stay in nice pieces, and scatter over the rest of the dill before serving.