Scandinavian Barley and Beet Salad
Barley and beets are both cold-climate staples that have fed northern Europe for a very long time, and they belong together: the grain's nutty chew against the beet's sweet, earthy softness. Most beet salads reach for oil to bind them, but roasting the beets whole in foil concentrates their own moisture and sweetness, and a dressing of orange juice, apple cider vinegar, and mustard clings to the barley without it. Dill and caraway are the flavors that read as Scandinavian here, one fresh and grassy, one sharp and warm. Dress the grain while it is warm so the acid soaks in, and the salad only improves sitting in the refrigerator for a day.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Hulled barley, rinsed
- 1 lb Beets, about 3 medium
- 1 whole Apples, diced
- 1/2 whole Red onions, thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup Dill, chopped
- 1/3 cup Walnuts, toasted and chopped
- 1 whole Oranges, zest and juice
- 3 tbsp Apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp Caraway
- 1/2 tsp Black peppercorns, freshly ground
Method
- Heat the oven to 400 F (200 C). Wrap the whole unpeeled beets in foil and roast until a knife slides in easily, 45 to 60 minutes depending on size. Roasting whole in foil steams them in their own moisture, so the color and the earthy sweetness stay in the beet instead of bleeding into a pot of water.
- While the beets roast, simmer the barley in a large pot of water until tender with a real chew, 35 to 40 minutes. Drain and spread it on a sheet pan to cool. Spreading it thin keeps the grains separate instead of steaming into a sticky clump.
- Soak the sliced red onion in the vinegar in a large bowl while everything else cooks. The acid takes the raw bite off the onion and lightly pickles it, and that vinegar becomes the base of the dressing.
- When the beets are cool enough to handle, the skins rub off with a paper towel, no peeling needed. Dice them and add to the bowl with the barley.
- Whisk the orange juice and zest, mustard, caraway, and black pepper into the onion and vinegar. Orange juice and mustard together give the body and cling that oil usually provides, so the dressing coats the grain without any fat pooling at the bottom.
- Add the barley while it is still a little warm and toss it through the dressing first. Warm grain drinks up acid the way cold grain never will, so season it now. Then fold in the apple, dill, and walnuts. Serve at room temperature or chilled; it keeps three days and the flavor deepens overnight.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 300 calories, 8 g protein, 10 g fiber, 110 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
