Pearled Barley Salad Recipes

Barley is a nutritious grain that can be used in numerous culinary ways. Barley can be found in the aisle where oats, millet, and quinoa are located. Typically, you’ll see hulled barley and pearled barley. Both are nutritious, but there are some notable differences between the two.

Cooking Barley

Generally, when a recipe calls for barley, pearled barley is the type you should use. Cooking pearl barley takes less time because the outer husks and bran layers have been removed during processing. When cooking pearl barley, it takes about 40 minutes and you can expect it to have a chewy texture and lighter color than hulled barley. For years, people have been cooking barley and adding it to stuffing, soups, and stews. It can often be used as a substitute for rice or pasta. The nutty flavor of pearl barley makes it a great addition to salads.

Cooking From the Pantry

One of the biggest benefits of maintaining a well-stocked pantry is the convenience of having a good selection of items to choose from to prepare healthy dishes for your family. Look for organic pearl barley if buying organic is part of your health-conscious lifestyle. There is a recipe at eatingbirdfood.com for Easy Barley Salad with Chickpeas and Pears. This is a recipe that you can customize to please your palate or to correlate with the items you have in the pantry. You can use apples instead of pears or use a different type of bean instead of chickpeas the recipes suggest. If your supply of walnuts is depleted, grab some cashews, Brazil nuts, or Hazelnuts as a substitute.

Summer Barley Salad

Summertime provides fresh vegetables that can be used to create amazing salads. You can make a summer barley salad that includes several different types of fresh summer vegetables. For an ultra-healthy salad, cook 1 cup of organic pearl barley. While it is cooking, chop one cup each of grape tomatoes, cucumber, and sweet pepper. Put the vegetables in a bowl with 1/4 cup of diced onion and 1/4 cup of feta cheese. Instructions for preparing this salad and a Greek salad dressing recipe to accompany the salad can be found at spendwithpennies.com.