Garnish this Middle eastern dish with mint leaves and serve it icy cold as a salad or as an appetizer with crisp bread. Add the tomatoes just before serving to keep their firm texture and taste.
Ingredients
1 c pot or pearl barley
2 c water
1 c chopped fresh parsley
½ c chopped fresh mint
½ c chopped green or red onion (I used red)
1 small cucumber, coarsely chopped
¼ c olive oil
¼ c fresh lemon juice
½ t cinnamon
¾ t salt
freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 plum tomatoes, chopped (I used Roma)
fresh mint leaves for garnish
Instructions
In a saucepan over high heat, combine barley and water; bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to simmer; cover pan and cook for 40 minutes, then chill.
In a large bowl, combine chilled barley, parsley and mint.
Add onion and cucumber.
In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice , cinnamon, salt, and pepper; pour over barley mixture and mix well, then refrigerate.
Shortly before serving, stir in tomatoes.
Garnish with fresh mint leaves.
Recipe by Food Musings at http://foodmusings.ca/cookbooks/go-barley-go/