Mediterranean-Style Pearl Barley Risotto

• Heat a small knob of butter in a large deep frying pan with a lid over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, pearl barley, tomato paste and Middle Eastern spice mix, then fry for 1 minute.
• Add the tomato, coconut milk, and water, then crumble in the stock cube (see pantry for amounts).
• Bring to a boil, then put the lid on and cook for 25 - 30 minutes (see Tip), stirring regularly. Add some more water if needed.

Tip: pearl barley is quite a hard grain, so it will still have a little bit of bite when cooked.

• Pull the thyme leaves off the stems, then add them to the pearl barley (see Tip).
• Heat a frying pan without any oil over high heat. Toast the pumpkin seeds for 1 - 2 minutes, or until they start to pop. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Tip: if you don't have time to pull the leaves off the stems, use one sprig of thyme to tie the rest together, and put it straight in the pan - that way you can easily remove it when you're ready to serve.

• Heat a light drizzle of olive oil in the same frying pan over medium-high heat.
• Fry the bell pepper for 10 - 12 minutes until soft.

• Stir the bell pepper into the pearl barley.
• Add some of the oil from the semi-dried tomatoes as preferred, along with salt and pepper to taste.
• Slice the olives.