Barley & Prunes

Soak the chickpeas for 4 hours in cold water; then rinse them, drain and cook the chickpeas in abundant salted water for ab. 50-60 minutes. Once cooked, drain and set aside. Meanwhile, fill another pot with abundant salted water and cook the barley along with the bay leaf and 1 garlic clove for ab. 45 – 60 minutes. Right after, in a pot, heat 2 tablespoons of EVO; add 1 garlic clove, a pinch of salt and carrots and cook for 5 minutes. Then, place the remaining EVO and garlic, a pinch of salt, a little vegetable broth and the artichokes in a pan and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add in the carrots, 20 g of butter and parsley, while stirring well.

Then, blend the chickpeas in a food processor. Place them in a bowl, add the drained barley, Grana Padano, egg, salt and pepper and mix well. Pour 1/3 of the mixture into the bottom of a 24 cm diameter mould. Cover this layer with half of the artichokes and carrots mixture, followed by another layer of chickpeas and barley and continue layering until all of the ingredients have been used, ending with the chickpeas and barley mixture. Sprinkle breadcrumbs and the remaining butter in flakes on the top layer. Cook it in the oven, pre-heated at 180°C. Bake for ab. 40 minutes, then remove it from the oven and let it stand for 10 minutes. Serve.