Sheet pan roasted vegetable barley bowls with lemon tahini
Cumin-roasted cauliflower, carrots and red onion over chewy barley, finished with a lemony tahini sauce, cucumber and a pile of parsley.
- 45 min total
- 15 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.45 a serving
- 530 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 cauliflower, cut into florets
- 4 carrots, sliced
- 1 red onion, cut into wedges
- 1¼ cups pearl barley
- ⅓ cup tahini
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- 1 cucumber, diced
- ½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- ½ cup feta cheese, crumbled (optional)
From your pantry
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1¾ tsp salt, divided
Each serving has about 530 calories, 14 g protein, 72 g carbs and 23 g fat, and costs about $2.45 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No red onions? White onions or yellow onions work.
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No cucumbers? English cucumbers or mini cucumbers work.
- No fresh parsley? Cilantro works.
- No feta cheese? Goat cheese works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 425°F and bring a large pot of water over high heat.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
On a large , the cauliflower, carrots and onion with the oil, cumin, paprika and ¾ teaspoon salt. 25 to 30 minutes, stirring once, until and tender.
Sheet pan. A sheet pan is a flat metal baking tray with a low rim all the way around. The rim catches juices, and the wide surface lets food spread out and brown.
How you’ll know: Everything fits in one layer with a little space between the pieces.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Roast. Roasting means cooking in a hot oven, around 400°F to 450°F, usually spread out on a sheet pan. The dry heat browns the outside and brings out sweetness, especially in vegetables.
How you’ll know: The edges are browned and a little crisp, and a fork slides easily into the thickest piece.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Timer: 27 min 30 sec
Meanwhile, add the barley and 1 teaspoon salt to the water and boil 25 to 30 minutes, until tender with a little chew. well.
Boil. Boiling means heating a liquid until big bubbles rise and break all over the surface. It’s the fastest way to cook pasta, potatoes and eggs, because it’s as hot as water gets.
How you’ll know: Bubbles are breaking across the whole surface, not just at the edges, and steam is rising.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
High heatTimer: 27 min 30 sec
the tahini, lemon juice, garlic and of salt with 4 tablespoons water until smooth and drizzly.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
Dolly’s tip: Tahini seizes up and gets thick when the lemon goes in. Keep whisking and add water and it turns silky.the barley with half the parsley.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Fill bowls with barley and the vegetables, add the cucumber, with the tahini sauce, and top with the rest of the parsley and the feta.
Roast. Roasting means cooking in a hot oven, around 400°F to 450°F, usually spread out on a sheet pan. The dry heat browns the outside and brings out sweetness, especially in vegetables.
How you’ll know: The edges are browned and a little crisp, and a fork slides easily into the thickest piece.
Drizzle. Drizzling means pouring a thin, slow stream over the top of something. A thin stream spreads a little flavor a long way.
How you’ll know: You see thin lines across the food, not a puddle collecting underneath.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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