Greek Chicken and Barley Salad

Submitted by WiGal

"Posting for ZWT#6. From CookingLight contributor Suzanne Rumsey of Fort Wayne, Indiana who won $5000 for this recipe! What would YOU do if you won that money? :) A make ahead and time does not include chilling time. It says 8 servings but think they might be pretty small portions."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 5mins
• Ingredients: 18
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• SALAD

• 2 (6 ounce) skinless chicken breasts, boneless
• 1⁄8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 4 cups chicken broth, DIVIDED
• 1 cup pearl barley, uncooked
• 2 cups cucumbers, seeded cubed
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 1⁄2 cup yellow bell pepper, cubed
• 1⁄3 cup reduced-fat feta cheese
• 1⁄4 cup kalamata olive, pitted chopped

• DRESSING

• 3 tablespoons light extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon lemon rind, grated
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 garlic cloves, minced

directions

1. To prepare salad, sprinkle chicken with 1/8 teaspoon salt.
2. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Add chicken; cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned.
4. Add 1 cup broth; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until done.
5. Cool; shred chicken.
6. Discard broth.
7. Bring 3 cups broth to a boil in a large saucepan; add barley.
8. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 35 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
9. Fluff with a fork.
10. Cool.
11. Combine chicken, barley, cucumber, and next 4 ingredients (through olives) in a large bowl.
12. To prepare dressing, combine 3 tablespoons oil, rind, and remaining ingredients; stir well.
13. Add to barley mixture; toss well.
14. Cover and chill.

Reviews

[Deantini]

This salad was just wonderful and filling (if you eat a bit more than the 'serving size'. I also added red onions and omitted olives (dont like them), increased the feta a bit. The flavours all come together well for a filling and healthy meal!

 

[duonyte]

This is a delicious salad. I made it without the chicken, as I wanted it as a side dish with fish. If I were making it with chicken, I would use the broth it cooks in as part of the broth for the barley. I used the herbs I had available in my garden - thyme, parsley, lovage and pineapple sage. From past experience I've learned to be careful with lemon in dressings, and used only about half of it, ended up using none of the zest, as I feel it would have been too lemony. This was a lovely side.

 

[Scoutie]

I can see why this won a prize, it's delish! I love the citrus in the dressing, in fact, I doubled the dressing. I also added some finely chopped red onion and used red and yellow peppers as that is what I had in the garden that I needed to use up. Oh, also used regular fat feta, cuz that is what we like. : ) I could see making this with tuna instead of the chicken as well. A great summer dish, thanks for posting, WiGal.

 

[evelynathens]

Lovely and fresh and good for you! I had cooked the barley the night before and bought a rotisserie chicken, so this recipe literally came together in minutes. Everything was so good - filled you up without stuffing you up. Thanks for a great recipe.

 

[Chef by Chance]

I loved the taste plus texture of the barley. The leftovers were just as good the next day. I followed the recipe as is, minus the olives and think I will try a rotisserie chicken next time.