A hearty side-dish or vegetarian main dish. Barley, lots of greens with lemon and garlic for a little kick.
Cook Time45 minutesmins
Total Time45 minutesmins
Course: Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine: Vegetarian
Keyword: wholegrain
Servings: 4servings
Calories: 203kcal
Author: Trish | The In Fine Balance Food Blog
Ingredients
½cuppearl barley
salted water - a least 1 quart
1lbof fresh kale
1tablespoonsolive oil
2small onionsfinely chopped
4clovesof garliccrushed
½ - 1teaspoonred pepper flakes
zest of one lemon
juice from one lemon
olive oil for tossing
Instructions
Cook barley
Bring 1 quart of salted water to a boil in a medium sized sauce pan, add barley and cook until tender. About 45 minutes. To drain pour water and barley through a large mesh sieve and set over the pot (off the heat) to drain completely while you prepare the rest of your ingredients.
For the kale:
Meanwhile, heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and then the chopped onions. Saute onions until soft and slightly caramelized. This will take about 10 minutes. Add garlic and saute for another minute or two. Toss in hot pepper flakes, stir a bit, then add kale (it will seem like so, so much kale, but it will cook down). Continue to saute until the kale is tender and wilted - 5 to 7 minutes - then remove from heat.
In a large bowl, or in the cooling saute pan, toss barley, kale and lemon zest together. Sprinkle with lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle with a little of your favourite rich tasting extra virgin olive oil and serve.
Notes
Be generous with the lemon and garlic, barley can take lots of flavoursBarley is not a gluten-free grain. I tested this recipe with pearl barley. You can use pot barley if you wanted, it will take slightly longer to cook but otherwise is interchangeable in this recipe.