Barley Salad with Cucumber, Carrot and Coriander

I am writing this blog post on a train from Cordoba to Barcelona. I have been in Spain for vacation for the last ten days and it has been amazing, from a historical, gastronomical and personal standpoint! The Philippines (where I grew up) was colonized by Spain for 333 years, so you can imagine that our culture--from the food, language, certain behaviors and even our names---are heavily influenced by Spanish culture.

It was great to finally try the authentic versions of some Spanish influenced Filipino dishes like lechon (roast suckling pig, which the Spaniards call Cochinillo), Callos Madrileña (tripe and chorizo stewed in tomatoes), chorizo (sausage), churros con chocolate (Spanish doughnuts with chocolate), and many, many others. Our versions of these dishes are very close, if not identical to the originals, and that was very refreshing to see.

However, what we noticed is that Spanish cuisine lacks vegetables (aside from the occasional potato and eggplant); and we missed vegetables and fruit so much!

So for this week's blog post, I'm posting a salad made from barley, cucumber and carrots. Oh vegetables, I missed you so much!

Now a little bit about this salad. I first encountered this healthy salad in a party with some Japanese friends. It's very simple and refreshing. Barley is a healthy, whole grain that is high in protein, and packed with nutrients and antioxidants. Read more about barley and its health benefits here.

Barley Salad with Cucumber, Carrot and Coriander

The salad is very simple to make. In fact, the first time we tried to replicate it at home, my teenaged son made it by himself. It's great with roasted, grilled or fried food, especially dry dishes.

BARLEY SALAD WITH CUCUMBER, CARROT & CORIANDER

Serves 4

1 cup of raw barley
3 cups water

1 carrot, diced

1 cucumber, diced

Coriander, leaves chopped roughly

Rind and juice of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon honey

pinch of salt and pepper

Procedure:

1. Put 1 cup of barley in a pot with 3 cups of water. Boil for about 30 minutes, or until the barley is soft.  Simmer until the barley has absorbed almost all of the water. Rinse the cooked barley and drain. Set aside.

2. In another pot, boil some water to blanch the diced cucumber and carrots for about a minute. Be careful not to overcook! Drain and put it in the salad bowl.

3. Prepare the dressing by getting the rind of the lemon by using a Microplane. Add the rind to the vegetables. Squeeze the lemon and put in a small bowl. Add the honey, salt and pepper; whisk.  

4. Add the drained, cooked barley in the salad bowl and mix with the vegetables. Add coriander and the dressing and toss well. Chill before serving.