Pearled Barley Salad with Apples, Pomegranate Seeds and Pine Nuts

By Shawn

Goes very well with the Oven Fried Talapia

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsps. extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tbsp white Balsamic vinegar
• 1 small shallot, minced
• saltand freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups Thyme Scented Pearled Barley
• 1 large tart apple, cored and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds (from 1 pomegranate)
• 1/2 cup chopped flat leafed parsley

Details

Servings 4
Preparation time 20mins
Cooking time 60mins
Adapted from foodandwine.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350. Spread the pine nuts in a pie plat and toast until golden, about 5 minutes. Let cool.

In a bowl, whisk the oil with the vinegar and shallot and season with salt and pepper. Add the Thyme-Scented Pearled Barley, pine nuts, apple, pomegranate seeds and parsley. Toss before serving.

Thyme Scented Barley

2 tbsp extra vigrin olive oil
1 1/2 cups pearled barley
1 small onion, finely diced
2 thyme sprigs
3 cups water
salt

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add the pearled barley and cook over moderate heat, stirring until lightly toasted. The grains will turn slightly opaque just before browning. Add the onion and thyme and cook over low heat, stirring, until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add the water and 1 tsp of salt and bring to a boil. Cover and ook over very low heat until the water is absorbed and the grains are tender. Fluff the grains and discard the thyme sprigs. Season the grains with salt and serve.

Cooked Grains can be refrigerated for up to 5 days and frozen for up to 1 month