Beetroot and grain salad

1 Place the barley in a pan of water and bring to a simmer. Once it begins to simmer, drain the grains and return to the pan with cold water again. Bring to a simmer once more and leave to cook gently over a low heat till the grains are al dente. Barley can become quite soft so leave to simmer for 10-15 minutes, so it still has some bite.

2 Drain the grains and rinse under cold water to cool them. Tip into a bowl and add the dressing ingredients — pour in the orange juice, vinegar, olive oil and date syrup. Mix well and season with the ras el hanout, salt and pepper to taste.

3 Peel the beetroot and cut into very fine matchsticks. Fold these through the salad along with the olives and mint leaves. Scatter some crumbled feta in, along with roughly chopped toasted nuts, to make this more substantial, or fold through some salad leaves to make it lighter.