Summer Barley Salad

Name: Summer Barley Salad
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups uncooked pearl barley; 1 cup fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears); 1 cup diced seeded plum tomato (about 2 small); 1/2 cup chopped green onions; 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley; 20 kalamata olives, pitted and coarsely chopped; 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 1 garlic clove, minced; 3/4 cup (3 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

15 Reviews

ADD YOUR REVIEW

Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Cindy Barr

Yield

4 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)

Serve this colorful summer salad with buttery lemon green beans.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups uncooked pearl barley
1 cup fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears)
1 cup diced seeded plum tomato (about 2 small)
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
20 kalamata olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 cup (3 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

How to Make It

Cook barley according to package directions, omitting salt. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain. Cool completely. Combine barley, corn, and next 4 ingredients (through kalamata olives) in a bowl. Combine juice and next 4 ingredients (through garlic), stirring well with a whisk; drizzle over barley mixture. Toss to coat. Sprinkle with cheese.

Ratings & Reviews

skspillman's Review

2012-08-06T17:57:18-04:00 ChefAmandaLynn

I followed the recipe exactly as written, and the salad was good. This is a good base recipe that could be modified in many ways--with different grains such as quinoa instead of barley, with red bell peppers and cucumbers instead of corn and tomato, etc.

ktrose's Review

2010-08-17T22:54:08-04:00 taval2

My 1 1/2 cup uncooked barley yielded 8 cups of barley so it was wayyyy heavy on the grain for the other ingredients. The dressing was almost untasted. I used Quaker Pearlized Medium barley which was all my supermarket carried. Don't think I will repeat this one.

Mleigh's Review

2010-07-19T02:08:29-04:00 Lynda

I am curious about the ratio of barley to the other ingredients, and the number of servings yielded. One and a half cups of uncooked barley yields 6 cups cooked, yet this recipe says it only yields 4 1-cup servings. In addition, the proportion of barley to the other ingredients seems off. It's a good thing I like barley. I lightly steamed the corn before cutting it off the cob and I also spread the barley out on a jelly roll pan before putting it in the fridge so it would cool down faster.

elizabethdm's Review

2010-07-01T03:21:06-04:00 lauraclaire222

This barley salad is amazing! It is light and refreshing. I had the same issue as the other reviews--barley takes a while to make, so you may want to consider cooking it the night before and letting it chill in the fridge overnight. I wanted to make the recipe a little lighter, so I reduced the barley to one cup and added a cup of chopped cucumbers. I also only used 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1/3 cup of feta. It did not sacrifice taste at all. Delicious!

Inconsistent Recipe

2017-04-04T12:45:26-04:00 CherylT

This recipe states that it makes four 1-cup servings. I made this recipe, following ingredient amounts precisely, and ended up with about 9 cups of salad. This recipe makes a ridiculous amount of food, and is less a barley salad, and more just barley with a little bit of veggie thrown in. The sheer amount of cooked barley that 1 1/2 cups dry makes is probably what was not factored into the serving size claim.