BM# 68-Cooking Carnival: Day 4
Theme of the Week 2: Whole Grains in Salads
Dish: Summer Barley Salad
We are into Week 2 of this month’s Mega marathon and my ingredient choice for this week is ‘Whole Grains’. Since Whole grains is a broad category to choose recipes from, I’m going to do a sub-category under it. I will posting Salads made with Whole grains this week. Since today is unofficial end of Summer in the US, I have a very summery salad made with Barley for today.
Whole grains are any grains that are are eaten in their ‘whole’ form. They include grains like wheat, corn, rice, oats, barley, quinoa, sorghum etc. Whole grains are very good source for disease-fighting phytochemicals and antioxidants. In fact they have valuable antioxidants that are not found in fruits & vegetables, as well as B vitamins, vitamin E, magnesium, iron and fiber.
I try to buy whole grains from the bulk section of Whole foods, so I can only get how much I need. I store the grains in the fridge for short term and move them to the freezer for longer storage.
Barley is one of the oldest cultivated grains. Barley has a particularly tough hull, which is very difficult to remove without losing some of the bran. So lightly pearled barley is technically not a ‘whole grain’ (as some of the bran is missing), but its full of fiber and much refined than a fully refined grain.
Today’s recipe, Summer Barley Salad, could not be any simpler. Recipe is from the Kitchn. Barley cooks up to be chewy and is a great alternate to pasta in a salad. I used the veggies and herbs from my garden and this dish turned out to be quite delicious. It is a great make ahead dish to make for picnics or to pack in lunchboxes.
Summer Barley Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup Barley Pearl
- 1 Cucumber Small , peeled, seeded and diced
- 12 ~ 15 Cherry Tomatoes
- 1 Red Onion Small , finely chopped
- 1 cup Corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
- ¼ cup Extra virgin Olive oil
- 3 tbsps White wine vinegar Sherry vinegar or
- To taste Salt Pepper &
- 3 tbsps Parsley Fresh , chopped
- 3 tbsps Basil Fresh , chopped
- 3 tbsps Mint Fresh , chopped
Instructions
Cook Barley:
- Combine barley and 3cups of water in a saucepan with a pinch of salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, lower the heat and simmer covered until all the water is absorbed and barley is soft yet chewy. Add more water if the pan becomes dry before the barley has finished cooking.
Make the Dressing:
- In a small bowl, combine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Whisk until combined.
Make the Salad:
- Combine slightly cooled barley, chopped veggies (cukes, tomatoes, red onion and corn) and the dressing. Mix well to combine. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
- Serve right away or let it sit for a little bit for the flavors to mingle.
Notes
usha
I can’t believe summer is already over! It flew by in a jiffy. Summer salad looks light and filling at the same time.
Nalini
Summer Salad looks so colorful and healthy.Amazing clicks.
sandhyaramakrishnan
I absolutely love the ingredients that went into the sald. I love the texture of barley.
Priya
I rarely tried my hands in making salad with barley, this salad looks prefect to give a try, healthy summer salad definitely.
Gayathri Kumar
This is one colourful looking salad. Though we get barley here, we rarely use it in dishes..
Srivalli
Wow I love that outdoor picture Pavani..and naturally the salad looks awesome!
srividhya
I second usha.. summer is already gone. As long as day light saving doesn’t gets kicked in, i m fine. between love that bowl of goodness. yum
harini-jaya
Stunning pictures of the yummy salad, Pavani.
sapana
Barley salad looks so light and delicious.Loe all the pictures .
vaishalisabnani
The barley is my new love , i am forever looking out for fresh salad recipes with it . This salad sounds great , love the combination of all herbs from your garden , so fresh and aromatic . Wow !
Kalyani
am into barley only for medicinal purposes or as a soup ! this salad is tempting 🙂 and love the freshness of the herbs there. and the last pick too – is that ur Son, Pavani ??
Archana
Stunning beautiful pictures and of course the salad is super yum
Ritu Tangri
Such a colorful and healthy looking salad
Priya Srinivasan
Wow pavani, awesome clicks and definitely the salad looks scrumptious. I could have it as a meal.
Smruti Shah
Such a simple yet flavorful salad you got there! I loved the pictures, especially the last one!! Those little hands are super cute!
Sowmya
Have not tried too many r copes with barley. This looks like a great place to start. Lovely pics of a refreshing salad!
PRADNYA
i love the flavor of barley, should experiment more with it, the salad looks so colorful and full of tastes
Suma Gandlur
The images are stunning and salad looks colorful