Chilled Mediterranean Barley Salad

Submitted by MathMom.calif

"Posted in the MyFoodDiary.com forums, from a newspaper article some time back. Excellent salad, and very healthy. Tasty. Healthy. You can't go wrong. Even my kids like this one."

 

• Ready In: 50mins
• Ingredients: 11
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1⁄4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 1⁄4 cups vegetable broth or 2 1/4 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup pearl barley or 1 cup hulled barley
• 1⁄2 cup sun-dried tomato, cut up small
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1⁄2 of a red bell pepper, chopped
• 1⁄2 of a yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1⁄4 cup crumbled feta cheese

directions

1. Cook the barley in the broth along with the chopped sun-dried tomatoes for about 30-40 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed and the barley is tender. Allow to cool to room temperature.
2. Mix the oil, vinegar and mustard thoroughly.
3. Add the remaining ingredients to the barley mixture (green onions through feta cheese), stir, and then add the oil and vinegar mixture, stirring again.
4. Add salt and pepper if needed for your taste.

5. Variations:

6. •Serve on a bed of torn romaine with some chicken for a main dish.
7. •Add toasted pine nuts.
8. •Use fresh tomatoes instead of sun-dried, if you have good tomatoes available.
9. •Use fresh oregano (1 Tbsp instead of 1 tsp) if you have fresh herbs available.
10. For vegetarian use only the vegetable broth.

Reviews

[Toadlily]

very nice - i eat it cold over greens with the feta cheese on top, and sliced boiled beets around the edge of the plate.

 

[Cilantro in Canada]

I really liked this salad. It was good hot but better cold I think. I left out the oregano for personal preference. i also added a can of pinto beans to make it more of a meal. Thanks for the recipe.

 

[Engrossed]

I LOVED this! I don't have much experience with barley so I followed the package instructions: I used one 14oz can of vegetable broth plus enough water to make 3 cups then boiled it over low heat for 1 hour. I mixed the oregano, salt and pepper with step 2. I used whole red and yellow bell peppers and a whole bunch of green onions. I also doubled the feta. The sundried tomatoes give this a very nice flavor. I enjoyed the meaty texture of the barley with the crunch of the bell peppers. This is a HEALTHY WINNER of a recipe! Made for Zaar Tag.

 

[Nado2003]

Nice and easy. I used fresh tomatoes because they are available and gorgeous. Added some shelled edamame, a chopped cucumber and some celery. So yummy. Topped with feta as needed. Thank you

 

[Kiwi Kathy]

I'm always on the look out for salads that can be whipped up and left in the fridge for quick mid-week meals or to take to work for lunch. This one is definitely a winner. Great flavours and will also keep well, if it lasts that long. I didn't fully read the recipe before cooking the barley and left out the sun-dried tomatoes from this step. I did however add them when mixing the barley with the other ingredients. I only had red capsicum (Peppers) in the fridge so used one whole red, rather than a half red and half yellow. The Balsamic Vinegar really goes well with all the ingredients. Will certainly be making it again.