What’s Cooking?… Barley Tabouleh.
I really like Tabouleh but I wanted to make something a bit different. I have to confess I don’t have great memories of pearl barley as a child. It only seemed to be used in soup and although my mother is an excellent cook this was not a favorite. The smell and the texture I found most unpleasant. Fast forward to recent times and having tried it as a salad experience pearl barley is excellent. It has a very nice texture, delicate flavour and holds it shape well in a salad.
This is how I do it.
Ingredients
1/2 cup of dried pearl barley
1 small red onion
1 large bunch of fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped mint
2 ripe tomatoes
juice of 1 lemon
1 1/2 tablespoons quality olive oil
pepper and salt to taste
Method
Prepare and cook pearl barley according to the instructions on the package. Allow to cool.
Meanwhile, wash the parsley and drain well. Remove all major stems as much as possible. Chop the parsley very well. Put into serving bowl. Repeat with the mint. Peel and cut the onion into a very fine dice.
When the barley has cooled, add to the parsley mix. Mix the lemon juice , olive oil and seasonings. Mix through the salad. Lastly cut the tomatoes into 1 cm dice and gently fold through. Enjoy.
