Chick pea salad with tomato and goats' cheese

Apparently it's been the warmest, driest and sunniest summer since 2006. Despite the turn for the worse today, I'm hoping that summer's last hurrah may be yet to come.

What a difference a day makes, though. Tonight there's a chill in the air. Yesterday the warm evening demanded a picnic, just in case it should be the last of the year, and the park was full of others enjoying the last rays of sunshine.

Here's what I ate on the picnic. Tomatoes and aubergines are pretty much at the height of their season now, and tomatoes in particular are as cheap as they come. This dish partners them with chick peas and warming Middle Eastern spices, and is the kind of salad that is a meal in itself.

Making the salad

This recipe is adapted from the wonderful Green Kitchen Stories blog.

I've made a few changes - using fresh coriander instead of parsley for a bit more punch, pearl barley instead of raw wheat berries (which I have to admit I have never cooked with, or knowingly eaten, or even seen on sale for that matter) and adjusting some of the quantities. I also cooked the chick peas and barley separately, as to my mind cooking them together will result in very overcooked barley.

You can eat it at room temperature (perhaps as a picnic or packed lunch), but it's equally good hot on a chilly autumn evening.

Ingredients

250g dried chick peas (or use 2 tins chick peas, though the result won't be quite as good)
2 bay leaves (optional)
250g pearl barley
2 aubergines
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp ground sumac
1 tsp cumin seeds
4 tomatoes, chopped into cubes
1 good handful fresh coriander, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
2-3 tbsp za’atar
100-150g goat’s cheese, crumbled

The final dish

 Method

Soak the dried chick peas overnight. Drain and cover with fresh water, add the bay leaves, if using, and boil for an hour or until tender. The cooking time may vary quite a lot depending on your chick peas. (You can skip these stages if you are using tinned chick peas.)

Meanwhile, cover the pearl barley with plenty of water and cook until tender (approximately half an hour).

While the barley is cooking, chop the aubergine into cubes and sprinkle with the olive oil, sumac and cumin. Bake at 200C/ 400F for 20-30 minutes until soft.

Drain the barley and chick peas and mix together with the cooked aubergine, tomatoes, lemon juice and za'atar.