Ingredients
- 1/2 cup quick cook barley
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
- 5 fresh asparagus spears, cut in 1-inch pieces
- 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. finely chopped green onions
- 1 - 2 large white mushrooms, stemmed and slivered
- 1 lemon
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- Ground black pepper
- 1 -2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
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Barley Salad Primavera
Time: 15 minutes prep, 12 minutes cook
Servings: 4
Directions
- In a medium saucepan, boil the water. Stir in the barley, reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook until barley is tender, about 10 - 12 minutes. Drain in colander, then rinse barley under cool water and drain well. Place barley in mixing bowl.
- Place the asparagus in boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain and immediately plunge it into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and keep it crisp-tender. Drain well and add to barley. Add tomatoes, onions and mushrooms.
- Grate or zest 1/2 the lemon into the barley and add the diced peppers.
- For a nice light dressing, squeeze 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of juice from the lemon into a small bowl. Mix in salt until it dissolves. Add 4-5 coarse grinds of pepper. Whisk in the oil. Pour the dressing over salad and toss with fork to combine. Serve chilled.
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Summary
We recently went with a "white salad" using only "white" or near white ingredients like barley, daikon, mushrooms, water chestnuts, etc.
This barley salad is even better...and once again we can learn why color matters!
