The cumin, lime and cilantro in the dressing give this refreshing cold summer salad an ethnic flair.
Serves 6 to 8
For the salad:
- 1/2 cup pearled barley
- 1 1/2 cups rich low-salt vegetable broth
- 1 cup frozen or cooked black-eyed peas
- Kosher salt
- 1 large yellow bell pepper, charred, peeled, and diced
- 1 cup seeded and diced red tomato
- 3/4 to 1 cup diagonally sliced scallions (white and green parts)
- 1 cup cooked fresh (or thawed, frozen) corn kernels
- Fresh spinach, chopped
For the vinaigrette:
- 1/4 cup fresh lime (or lemon) juice
- 1/2 tsp grated lime (or lemon) zest
- 1/4 tsp minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp finely minced cilantro
- 3 Tbs olive oil
- 1/4 tsp honey
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
In a dry saucepan, lightly toast the barley over moderate heat until fragrant, about 5 minutes, stirring to prevent burning. Add the broth, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer gently until the liquid is absorbed and the barley is tender, about 40 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand undisturbed, partially uncovered, until cooled to room temperature.
Meanwhile, cook the peas in lightly salted boiling water until just tender, but not mushy, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool, and set aside. If using canned peas, don’t cook them, just rinse them well.
In a small bowl, whisk the lime juice, zest, garlic, cumin, cilantro, oil and honey; add salt and pepper to taste.
In a large glass bowl, layer the spinach, barley, peas, roasted pepper, tomato, scallions and corn. Drizzle with the vinaigrette and toss before serving.
Recipe from Fine Cooking.
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