I love barley but unfortunately, it’s not my “go-to” ingredient for some reason. Barley is packed with nutrients but best of all it’s dirt cheap. You can use it to create multiple meals like soup, risotto or salads.Here is my Mediterranean-inspired salad with farmer’s market vegetables. Feel free to replace it with whatever is in season and fresh.
You can keep this for a couple of days in the fridge.
You need
- 1 cup pearled barley
- 2 lemons
- salt & pepper
- 1/3cup olive oil
- 3-4tbsp sliced kalamata olives
- ~3cup water
- ~2cups of veggies ( I did zucchini, yellow bell pepper, celery & cherry tomatoes )
- (optional) chopped parsley, mint, basil
- In a pot, combine the barley and water and bring to boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 35 minutes ( until it’s tender ), drain excess water and reserve. When you mix it with the other ingredients it must cool off else it will absorb all the dressing.
- It’s now time to prepare the vegetables, you have 2 choices here, either you add them raw or you roast them first for 2 minutes. I like to roast them without oil in a hot pan for like 2 minutes. It softens them and brings out some sweeter notes.
- For the dressing, combine the olive oil with the lemon juice, whisk until all combined. Adjust with salt and pepper.
- Combine your cooled barley with the vegetables, add the olives and dressing and fold it all together. I recommend you add some fresh chopped herbs, do some tests and pick the one you prefer. I used basil & mint together and the result is quite interesting.