Barley Confetti Salad

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Barley Confetti Salad

Earlier this week I had a bunch of veggies to use up and didn't feel like making anything elaborate. I decided to throw them all together with some grains and legumes and call it good. Easy, tasty, and chock full of vitamins. I was mainly trying to get the spinach into my diet because of this anemia bout. Friends, I apologize if I haven't been too communicative the past few weeks, but I have been wiped out from this condition. I'm taking my iron but it seems to not be working as quickly as normal. Just plain annoying to have to go to bed at 7:30 or 8 every night. What am I, 10 years old? I thought early bedtimes were a thing of the past. Oh, how wrong was I.

Barley Confetti Salad

Barley Confetti Salad
serves 4

1 cup dried barley
1 red pepper, finely diced
2-3 smallish beets, finely diced
2 cups packed spinach leaves, chopped into small strips
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 lemon
1/4 olive oil
fresh ground pepper & dried red pepper flakes to taste

Cook barley according to package directions. While it is cooking, you can prep the rest of the ingredients. Once barley is done, add corn and spinach to it. The frozen corn will cool the barley to room temp and the heat from the barley will wilt the spinach. Add the kidney beans & red pepper and mix thoroughly. Squeeze the lemon over the top, drizzle on the olive oil, and add the ground pepper & pepper flakes. Stir. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Spoon into individual bowls and sprinkle beets on top. You do not want to mix them into the salad because they will dye the entire thing pink. Which may not be bad, if that's the look you're going for.

P.S. While cutting these beets, I got a little giddy at the color. And look at the gorgeously stained cutting board. Makes me go weak in the knees. Really now, I cannot be the only person this in love with the color of beets.

Barley Confetti Salad

Barley Confetti Salad

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi there...I was happy to see your recipe for a Barley Salad!...I am hunting online for a recipe and not having much luck. A few years ago I purchased some Barley Salad from a Stew Leonards outside NYC. I loved it so much and planned to make it again at home. Speed forward a few years and I finally boiled the barley to make some yesterday! I have made a great salad with the dried cranberries, sundried tomatoes, grape tomatoes, celery, carrots, 3 colors of peppers and some onion. I know to add olive oil and some salt and pepper but am stuck on the last flavor maker. I keep hunting for recipes online and cant seem to find one anywhere. I keep going between balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar...??? or should I just try some lemon juice like your salad called for? Just seems like its a basic mix and I should be albe to figure this out!! Help?? Any suggestions? So far it marinated overnight with just the oil and it is tasting good but needs a final touch Thanks, Christy

 
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