{ Serves 3 to 4 }
Pearl barley is used a lot in stews and soups, but I think it works really well in a salad like this. If you mix it when it’s hot, the barley acts like a little sponge and soaks up all the flavors. You can try using barley in place of the quinoa in the Pomegranate, Nut, and Green Herb Quinoa too.
3/4 cup pearl barley
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/4 red onion, finely chopped
Extra virgin olive oil
31/2 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stalks removed and caps cut into quarters
1 ear corn
1/3 cup Hummus
Maldon or other flaky salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 lemon
1 handful baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup fresh dill leaves (no big stems)
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the barley and cook for about 30 minutes, until tender.
2. While the barley is cooking, toast the pine nuts in a small dry skillet over low heat until lightly browned, about 3 minutes, stirring often to keep them from burning. Combine the pine nuts and onion in a large bowl.
3. Using the same skillet over high heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil and the mushrooms. Sauté for about 4 minutes, until the mushrooms have some good color. Add them to the bowl with the onion and pine nuts.
4. Again in the same skillet over medium-high heat, add some more olive oil if necessary and the corncob. Cook the corn for about 5 minutes, until it’s nicely colored all over. (It’ll make a bit of noise and spit a tiny bit, but don’t worry—the heat shouldn’t be high enough to make it pop and splatter!) Remove it from the skillet and place it on a cutting board to cool down.
5. Drain the barley and add it to the bowl along with the Hummus, season with salt and pepper. Cut the corn kernels off the cob and add them too. Give it a taste, then squeeze in the juice from the lemon half.
6. Add the baby spinach leaves and mix well. Garnish with the dill and parsley and serve.