Barley & Black-eyed Pea Salad
Ingredients
- For The Salad:
- Pearled Barley - 1/2 Cup
- Rich Vegetable Or Chicken Stock - 1 1/2 Cups
- Frozen Black-eyed Peas - 1 Cup
- Yellow Bell Pepper, Charred, Peeled, And Diced - 1 Large
- Seeded And Diced Ripe Tomato - 1 Cup
- Diagonally Sliced Scallions (White And Green Parts) - 3/4 to 1 Cup
- Cooked Fresh (Or Thawed, Frozen) Corn Kernels - 1 Cup
- Green And Red Leaf Lettuce Leaves - Optional
- For the Vinaigrette:
- Fresh Lime Or Lemon Juice - 1/4 Cup
- Grated Lime Or Lemon Zest - 1/2 tsp
- Minced Garlic - 1/4 tsp
- Ground Cumin - 1/2 tsp
- Finely Minced Cilantro - 2 tsp
- Olive Oil - 3 Tbs
- Honey - 1/4 tsp
- Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper - To Taste
Instructions
- In a dry saucepan, lightly toast the barley over moderate heat until fragrant, about 5 minutes, stirring to prevent burning. Add the stock, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer gently until the liquid is absorbed and the barley is tender, about 40 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, partially uncovered, until cooled to room temperature before stirring.
- Meanwhile, cook the peas in lightly salted boiling water until just tender but not mushy, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool, and set aside. (If using canned peas, don’t cook them, just rinse them well.) Meanwhile, cook the peas in lightly salted boiling water until just tender but not mushy, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool, and set aside. (If using canned peas, don’t cook them, just rinse them well.)
- To make the vinaigrette:
- In a small bowl, whisk together the lime (or lemon) juice, zest, garlic, cumin, cilantro, oil, and honey; add salt and pepper to taste. In a large glass bowl, layer the barley, peas, roasted pepper, tomato, scallions, and corn. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad and toss before serving. If you like, arrange greens on serving plates and top with the salad.