I've been looking for more healthy recipes lately, and I found this one while browsing Tastespotting. It's simple, healthy, and it sounded like we both liked all of the ingredients, so I decided to give it a try. It somehow got better as we ate it, and there were almost no leftovers at all. I'll definitely be making this one again, and soon!
Barley and Grape Salad
Ingredients:
- 1 cup hulled barley, uncooked
- ½ cup cooked chickpeas
- ½ cup red grapes, cut into quarters
- ¼ cup dried apricots, chopped
- 1 cup arugula leaves, roughly chopped
- ¼ cup almonds
- ¼ cup sunflower seeds
Dressing:
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Cook barley in three cups of slightly salted water until tender, about 30 minutes. Rinse and drain. Set aside.
- In a dry pan, toast sunflowers seeds over medium-low heat for about 3-5 minutes. Set aside. Then toast almonds for about 5-7 minutes. Let almonds cool and roughly chop. Set aside.
- In a serving bowl, combine barley, chickpeas, grapes, apricots, arugula, almonds and sunflower seeds.
- Mix olive oil with balsamic vinegar and pour over the salad. Stir until evenly coated. Serve immediately or store in airtight container in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
Notes:
I bought slivered almonds instead of regular almonds because it seemed simpler. I also used baby arugula and didn't chop it at all, and didn't add any salt or pepper to the oil and vinegar dressing.
The second time I made this, I used meyer lemon olive oil instead of regular olive oil. It added a really nice extra flavor to it that I will definitely use again.
Comments