What better time to expand your whole grain horizons than Whole Grains Month? If you tend to stick to the same offerings, why not plan to try a new whole grain each week – or at least a new whole grain dish?
Go Barley, Modern Recipes for an Ancient Grain, is a great resource to get you started on barley, if it’s not part of your current repertoire. The cookbook includes more than 100 healthy, flavorful, and simple recipes – but not just for soups and salads. It also provides recipes for barley flour. Barley’s nutritional profile makes incorporating barley flour into your baking very wise indeed.
Here’s a fibre-packed sampling adapted from Go Barley that highlights the season’s last hurrah of tomatoes and corn. It’s great as a vegetarian main course or as a side dish with other protein offerings.
Black Bean Barley Salad
Makes 6 servings.
2 tsp (10 mL) canola oil
½ cup (125 mL) pot or pearl barley
2 cups (500 mL) low sodium or sodium-reduced vegetable stock or water
1 540 mL-can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 small yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
8 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup (125 mL) corn kernels
1/4 cup (50 mL) chopped chives
3 tbsp (45 mL) lime juice
1/4 cup (50 mL) extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
1/4 tsp (1 mL) freshly ground pepper
Lettuce
1/4 cup (50 mL) shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
In a medium saucepan, heat oil. Add barley and sauté for 3 minutes. Add vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 30 minutes; drain and cool.
In a large bowl, combine cooked barley, beans, yellow pepper, tomatoes, corn and chives. In a small bowl, combine lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper; pour over barley mixture and toss. Adjust seasonings, if necessary. Serve on lettuce topped with shredded cheese.
Nutrition information per serving
• Calories: 271
• Protein: 8 grams
• Fat: grams
• Saturated fat: gram
• Carbohydrate: 32 grams
• Dietary fibre: 8 grams
• Sodium: 460 milligrams
I’m adding in some diced chicken here, plz suggest…
That’s a great idea, Ema! Thanks for the suggestion.
The idea of yummy Black Bean Barley Salad was entirely your’s. The credit goes to you dear… 🙂