Roasted Squash and Barley with Cumin Yogurt Dressing

Winter squash was the star at the Farmers market this weekend. My favorite way of preparing this savory vegetable is to oven roast. I added the barley and the garbanzo beans for texture and made a simple cumin yogurt dressing. This recipe is adapted from the bon appetit, October 2010 edition with a few minor changes. The result was very tasty......

Ingredients:

3 teaspoons of cumin
1 cup of plain yogurt
3 cloves of garlic
Juice of 1 lemon
4 cups of cubed peeled squash
4 Tablespoons olive oil
1 cup of barley or farro
1 tablespoon of red jalapeno chile
1/2 cup of red onion 1/2 inch cubed
1 15 oz can of garbanzo beans
1/2 cup of fresh cilantro

Preparation:

For dressing:
Mix 1 1/2 teaspoons of the cumin, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice,1 garlic and yogurt together. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and chill.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat large baking sheet with nonstick spray. Place squash in bowl, add 2 tablespoons of oil; toss to coat. Spread squash out on sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until tender; about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile cook barley in boiling salted water until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain and cool.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and 1 teaspoon of chile; saute 1 minute. Add onion and garbonzo beans, saute 1 minute. Add squash and barley, toss to blend. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 teaspoons of cumin and rest of lemon juice; toss. Season with salt and pepper.

Spoon yogurt mixture over and sprinkle with cilantro. Enjoy.