My aunt made this great salad a few months ago for my birthday and it was absolutely delicious. The simple, fresh ingredients paired with hearty barley keep you full if you're having it for lunch but can also be great as a side dish (hot or cold) with a nice lean protein for dinner. If barley or arugula aren't your favorite ingredients feel free to use quinoa, wheat berries, or spinach to suit your tastes.
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| Bring 1 1/4 cups of water seasoned with salt to a boil. Add 1/2 cup uncooked pearled barley and turn heat down to low. Let it cook for 20-30 minutes or until all the water has been absorbed. The barley will be soft but still have a nice bite to it. Set aside. |
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| Heat 1 tsp of EVOO in a skillet and add 1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes with 1 1/2 tsp minced garlic. As you can see I was a little too ambitious and decided to leave my tomatoes whole. They didn't give out as much juice as I would have liked but squishing them with the back of my wooden spoon helped a bit. (I recommend cutting them first so your garlic has some extra liquid to simmer in) |
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| After some juices are released (2-3 minutes) add in the cooked barley along with salt and pepper to taste. If there's a decent amount of tomato juice make sure to simmer the mixture on low until all of the liquid is absorbed. |
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| Add 3 cups of baby arugula and combine. I find using tongs makes incorporating leafy greens a little easier and moves the wilting process along. |
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| Remove from heat and drizzle with 1 tsp olive oil. Add lemon zest to taste and give it all a good stir. |
There you have it! I decided to drizzle on some balsamic vinegar to finish it off which gave it an extra little zing. I prefer this dish cold and am looking forward to taking some for lunch tomorrow after the flavors have had a chance to meld. Enjoy the salad and don't forget to halve your tomatoes!
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