for the bowl:
1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1cm dice

olive oil

salt and pepper

1 cup pearl barley, cooked in salted water until just tender

½ cup zhug, recipe below

1/4 cup finely diced preserved lemon

½ cup miso cashew butter, recipe below

½ cup walnuts, toasted and rough chopped

1/4 cup pomegranate seeds

handful mint leaves

handful coriander leaves

‍
for the zhug:
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted

1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted

1 green chili, chopped roughly

2 cloves garlic, peeled

1 bunch coriander

1 bunch parsley

pinch of ground cloves

juice and zest of one lemon

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

for the miso cashew butter:
2 shallots, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, smashed

1 ½ cups raw cashews

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons white miso paste

½ cup water (or more)

‍

Start with the bowl by preheating the oven to 200/400 degrees and place your cut butternut squash on it. Toss with a drizzle of oil, salt and pepper. Cook for 40 minutes, stirring half way through, until starting to caramelize (but don’t allow it to get mushy). Remove and allow to cool slightly.

Then make the zhug place all of the ingredients except the olive oil in a blender whizz until finely chopped. Add the olive oil gradually until you have a pourable yet chunky sauce.

To make the miso cashew butter cook shallot, garlic, cashews, olive oil, and vegetable oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring often, until cashews are golden brown and shallots are deep golden brown, 8–10 minutes. Strain through a sieve into a small bowl. Transfer cashew mixture to a medium bowl. Add sugar and salt and toss to combine. Let cool. Blend cashew mixture, lemon juice, miso, and ½ cup water in a blender until very smooth and pourable (it should be about the thickness of tahini).

In a large bowl toss your cooked barley with the zhug and preserved lemon.  Gently fold in the roasted butternut squash, most of the walnuts, most of the pomegranate seeds, and half of the herbs. In your serving dish spread the miso cashew butter on the bottom and top with the barley and squash. mixture Top it all with the remaining walnuts, pomegranate seeds, and herbs. 

‍

‍

‍