Mediterranean Barley Salad
This is a grain salad in the Levantine and eastern Mediterranean mold, closer to a tabbouleh than to a Western pasta salad, but built on chewy hulled barley instead of bulgur so it holds up for days. Sumac does the heavy lifting: the dark red spice, ground from a tart berry, gives the sourness that most recipes would reach for salt to sharpen. Cooking the barley like pasta, in an open pot of water, is the simplest way to get it evenly tender without fuss. Whole barley is one of the cheapest grains in the store and a cup of it dry feeds a family, while the cucumber, tomato, and herbs make it feel like summer. Dress the grain while the vegetables wait, and combine them only when you are ready to eat.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Hulled barley, dried
- 1 Cucumber, seeded and diced
- 1 cup Cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/4 Red onions, finely diced
- 1/2 cup Flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 1/4 cup Mint, chopped
- 3 tbsp Lemon juice, fresh
- 2 tsp Sumac
- 1/2 tsp Black peppercorns, freshly ground
Method
- Simmer the barley in plenty of unsalted water, the way you cook pasta, until tender but still chewy, 40 to 45 minutes. Hulled barley keeps its hull-less bran, so it never turns to mush and stays toothsome, which is exactly what holds a grain salad together.
- Drain the barley and spread it on a tray to cool. Cooling it in a thin layer stops it steaming itself soft, and a room-temperature grain takes on dressing far better than a hot, sticky one.
- Soak the diced red onion in cold water for 10 minutes and drain. This quick soak takes the raw heat out so the onion reads as sharp and sweet rather than harsh in a cold salad.
- Toss the cooled barley with the lemon juice and sumac first, before anything else. Sumac brings a tart, almost cranberry-like sourness that stands in for salt, and letting the grain absorb the acid on its own gives the salad its backbone.
- Fold in the cucumber, tomatoes, onion, parsley, mint, and black pepper. Add the vegetables and herbs last so they stay crisp and bright, and serve at room temperature or cold. It keeps two or three days and is a good lunch to carry.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 180 calories, 5 g protein, 7 g fiber, 20 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.
