Ingredients:
1 cup barley
3 cups water
2-3 green onions, sliced
4 cups fresh spinach, washed, dried and sliced or chopped, if desired
Zest and juice of one lemon
¼ cup olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
About 1 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
¼ cup almonds (optional) or sunflower seeds, toasted
1 bunch of fresh asparagus OR 1 cup edamame, frozen green beans, or green peas (your choice)*
Directions:
- Combine barley and water in a small sauce pan with a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low/medium-low and cover with a lid. Cook 25-30 minutes without removing the lid. Check after 25 minutes. If there is a bit of water left in the pot, replace lid and cook for remaining 5 minutes or until water is evaporated. Allow barley to rest with lid on for about 10 minutes.
- Transfer barley to a large mixing bowl and fold in all remaining ingredients. Add a bit more oil and lemon juice or some vinegar if mixture is dry.
*In the segment, we used one bunch of asparagus, sliced into 1” pieces then blanched and shocked. To blanch and shock, bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add asparagus pieces and cook about 2 minutes or until bright green. Immediately plunge asparagus into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Asparagus should be bright green and still slightly crisp.
