Birthday Barley Salad
With blue cheese, marinated onions...
I’ve been avoiding food blogs ever since their advent because I am nervous about plummeting productivity. I’ve always had a penchant for food magazines (thanks, Mom), and food blogs just seem too good to be true–new recipes, beautiful photos, updated all the time.
Because I am constantly cooking, I figure I may as well write about it. And the simple recipes I’ve been stumbling across (sauteed cabbage?! I can write about that!) have inspired me. As with many things in my life, I often don’t start something for fear that, at some point, I will do it less than perfectly (which of course, I will), I will lose motivation (which is inevitable at various points) or that I will seem self-absorbed or self-important. On this last point, anyone that knows me will attest to my complete obsession with food and how I love to talk about what I’ve just made or what I’m thinking about making. So I’m finally giving in.
I made this salad for my Mom’s surprise birthday party two weeks ago. Before the (very approximate) recipe for the salad, a word about the party. My Mom turned 57 on March 24, and has never had a proper birthday party. After Christmas, I started scheming with my Dad and sister about surprising her this year. It’s not a milestone birthday, she’d never expect it, and we managed to get 40 of her biggest fans in a room, all loving on her, eating pulled pork, and yes, downing my salad. It was a wonderful night, and one of my parents friends, Hugh, asked me for this recipe 3 times and claims it’s the best salad he’s ever eaten. I don’t know about that, but I promised I’d send it to him. That means I have to approximate proportions and remember ingredients, which I’m notoriously bad at. But here’s a shot at it–use common sense and taste often as a buffer for my “measure-once-cut-twice” propensity.
P.S. I absolutely adore kale in almost every form. It doesn’t lose it’s crunch or color in salads, is definitely in the kick-ass-good-for-you category, and is available in the dull winter months.
Birthday Barley Salad
2 cups barley
1 head curly kale, washed, ribbed, and finely chopped
1 c. roasted pecans
1/2 c. dried cherries, roughly chopped
1/2 c. crumbled Danish blue cheese (or other firm blue cheese)
zest from one lemon
Dressing:
1 minced garlic clove
salt and pepper to taste (don’t be shy with your salt!)
1/2 ts. smoked paprika
4 Tb. apple cider vinegar
2 Tb. honey
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 red onion, cut into thin rings
For dressing: Mix the first five ingredients in a large measuring cup. Whisk in olive oil until emulsified. Season to taste. Drop in onions and let them marinate for at least 20 minutes.
For salad: Cook barley in lots of boiling water for about 45 minutes. There needs to be plenty of water so it won’t stick together–you want the grains to be separate. After it’s done (grains will be soft, but still a little chewy), drain it and run cold water over it. You can do this one day ahead if you want.
Toss barley with kale and most of the pecans, blue cheese, dried cherries, and dressing. I use my hands to do this. Scatter some of the remaining ingredients, the lemon zest, and a few marinated onions from the dressing over the top. I always like my audience to know exactly what’s in the salad just by looking at it. Grind a bit more pepper if you like.
red onions marinating in smoky paprika dressing
I had this and it is delicious!! Best salad I’ve ever had too!
smk! i made this on sunday night (substituted israeli couscous for the barley due to time constraint, but it was SO uber fabulous. i am in praise of this food blog! thank you!
xoxo.
Good, Unjin! Substitute away. That’s what I like to hear
So happy to have you as a reader.
Sarah,
Naomi is quite the Facebook-promoter for your new food blog. Love it.
I made this salad yesterday. Used dried cranberries instead of the cherries, though.
It was great!
Thanks for passing along your recipes. (And it’s fun to know that you have the same gifts in the kitchen as your mama!)
~Stacy
[...] made this very yummy salad from this wonderful blog. Now if you were to tell me that I would like kale years ago I would think you were crazy. I [...]
Sarah I made this last night for dinner and it was super yummy. My husband gave it a two thumbs, which I was expecting more of a, “yeah it was good (in a healthy sort of tone),” but it was completely opposite. I added your recipe to my blog, so I hope you don’t mind (I did write it was your recipe and put a link). Thought I would let you know how pleased with the recipe.
FINALLY made this yesterday and took it to a spontaneous bbq @ sue’s with all the out-of-town parents that converged in seattle this weekend. it was fantastic. i was at trader joe’s and got their bag of swiss chard + kale as well as their bag of mixed grains (israeli couscous, mini garbanzo beans, quinoa + 1 other that’s escaping me). i substituted these for their obvious counterparts. i made a huge bowl + it was gone. it will definitely be a regular meal of mine.
Sarah- I’m not a fan of blue cheese, but love all the other ingredients in this salad. Before I try it as written without the cheese, any suggestions for a blue cheese substitute that would keep the pizazz of this dish?
Hi Angie! You could leave cheese out altogether or substitute feta…
Hey Sarah, when I clicked on the arugula and candied walnut salad link under recipes, it brought me here.
Thank you, Kamille! It should be fixed now.
Finally made this with feta! So Wonderful! I will definitely make this again! Thanks Sarah!
Just made this today, and fused it with a recipe from cookusinturruptus (have you been to that site?). It is delicious. I used your dressing and added apples too. The other recipe is for a Massaged Kale, Apple and Gorgonzola salad . . . similar flavors to yours. I like the barley in it and your flavors are kicked up a notch too. A delicious lunch for me and my son had fun massaging the kale.
Oh my yumminess. Angie encouraged me to make this and I was not disappointed, nor was my husband. I can’t wait for lunch tomorrow!