Barley and Roasted Vegetable Salad

Can you eat too much eggplant? No Chris, you can not.  I found this recipe on a blog that I love, Jul's Kitchen. This recipe was very well received. And there is plenty for lunch this week. I tweaked the recipe a bit but this is close to what was on Jul's Kitchen blog.

Ingredients-
200 g of Pearl Barley
2 medium zucchini
1 eggplant
6 cherry tomatoes
4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of pitted black olives
Salt
Dried oregano
Fresh basil

Method-
The barley was cooked according to the package directions.  I diced the eggplant, the zucchini, and the cherry tomatoes and placed them into a pan with extra virgin olive oil, and a pinch of salt. The vegetables were cooked over medium heat, stirring often, until they soft, golden and well cooked.
Next, I added the barley, the sliced pitted olives and a sprinkle of dried oregano, toss and season with salt. I tossed the salad with a little olive oil and lemon juice. I finished it with a garnish of fresh basil and serve warm. 

Grilled Meatball Subs & Barley Salad with Tomato & Herbs

That was one tasty meatball! I started out with a pound of grass feed ground beef. To that I added 2 slices of Italian bread that was soaked in milk, 1/4 cup of minced yellow onion, 2 tablespoons fresh parsley and Parmesan cheese and 1/2 teaspoons of salt and pepper. I combined all the ingredients and shaped them into 1 inch meatballs. They were refrigerated over night. Chris grilled them and the rolls and we heated up some sauce. Sprinkle some Parmesan cheese (was sure I had mozzarella!!). Fantastic. The flavors were perfect.

Now about that Barley Salad with Tomato and Herbs, it was suppose to be made with Farro. But I did not have Farro in the house so I substituted Pearl Barley. Another hit! The Farro Salad recipe is from Giada De Laurentiis.

The tomato was our first tomato from our plant on the deck! 

Barley Salad with Tomato and Herbs, adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients -

3 cups water *

1 cup Pearl Barley
1 pound tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 sweet onion (recommended: Walla Walla) chopped
1/4 cup snipped fresh chives
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Method -

Combine the water and barley in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and reduce heat; cook 50-60 minutes. Drain well, and then transfer to a large bowl to cool. Freeze or refrigerate half of the barley for another time.

Add the tomatoes, onion, chives, and parsley to the barley, and toss to combine.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the vinegar, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Add the vinaigrette to the salad and toss to coat.

The salad can be refrigerated overnight. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Note - * This amount of water and barley make double what you need for this salad,  but the barley freezes perfectly.