Pea Mint and Barley Salad with Asparagus

This bright and vibrant Pea Mint and Barley Salad is a simple and delicious recipe that’s perfect for any time of the year. The addition of Asparagus gives it a lovely flavor and crispy texture, making for a hearty and complete dish that works just as well as its own meal as it does as a classic Salad Side Dish. The dish comes together very easily with minimal effort, and is a rewarding and tasty meal that’s loaded with healthy ingredients

How this recipe came to be

When we put this recipe together, we began by making a simple Pea and Mint Salad topped with Feta Cheese. In fact, we’ve published that recipe here and it tastes amazing. The classic pairing of Peas and Mint works great as always, and this dish is no exception

I came across a recipe from Serious Eats who published a very similar dish, but they added Farro to the dish. Farro is a classic Wheat dish that is popular in the US, but perhaps not as common in other places around the world. For us, we tried adding Barley as a replacement and this delicious Pea Mint and Barley Salad was the fantastic reward

We ended up serving this delicious Salad along with a beautifully cooked piece of Lamb Rump and published that recipe here. We love the Salad so much however that is deserves its own recipe

This Salad is amazing when paired with a tasty protein like this Lamb Rump

How to make Pea Mint and Barley Salad with Asparagus

This dish is very simple to make, and, like most dishes, relies heavily on the quality of ingredients you use. Good quality Asparagus and Mint will completely change the flavor of this dish, so try and hunt down some good produce to get the most out of the dish

To begin, the first step is to cook the Barley. Barley will take about 35 minutes to cook, which gives you ample time to prepare the remaining ingredients so once the Barley is ready you can pretty much serve it immediately

This dish is one that you can serve warm or cold, and the Barley will be the deciding factor in that. Both preparations are great. If you want the dish to be warm you can serve it immediately. For a cold Salad, prepare the Barley in advance and allow it to cool before serving

Cooking the Barley

Barley is so easy to make. All you need to do is wash and strain 1 cup of it and then add it to a saucepan filled with 3 cups of boiling Water. Stir it through the drop the heat to a simmer. Leave it uncovered and cook for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally

For this recipe we’re recommending that you only use water instead of Stock. This will allow for a more subtle flavor in the Barley and enable the flavors of Pea, Mint, and Asparagus to shine. If you like a richer flavor, try substituting one of the three cups of Water for Chicken Stock instead

We barely cook the Peas and Asparagus for the best flavor and texture

This technique is known as ‘blanching’ and involves dropping the Peas and Asparagus into boiling water for 1 minute, so they are barely cooked. Then, the Vegetables are strained and immediately plunged into a large bowl of cold / ice water to stop them cooking

This technique is easy to do. Simply fill a large bowl of ice water and place it into your sink. When the Vegetables are cooked, quickly (but carefully) strain them and place them straight into the bowl). If you don’t have ice, you can simply use cold water. I would recommend running cold water continuously over the bowl to keep the water cold, as those hot Vegetables will heat up the water that’s in there

Once the Peas and Asparagus are done all you need to do is add them into a large Salad bowl. We’ll keep them here until it’s ready to serve, so at this stage you can add the Mint. Just give the Mint and rough chop and if you like, leave a few leaves whole as they make a nice-looking garnish for serving

Finishing the Pea Mint and Barley Salad for serving

Once your Barley is cooked you can give it a taste and add a touch more Salt if it needs it. Then, simply place it straight into the bowl with the Peas, Asparagus, and Mint or allow it to cool before combining for a cold Salad

The dish will taste good at this point, but for the final step we recommend adding a dressing to liven up all the ingredients. Because the flavors in this Salad are subtle, the dressing needs to be too. So, a simple combination of Olive Oil and Lemon Juice with a splash of Salt will do the trick

I like to use a sealable jar when making dressing. It’s so easy to combine everything together. Just add the ingredients, seal the lid and give it a good shake. No whisk needed! Drizzle the dressing over the Salad and mix it through well and it’s now ready to enjoy

You can eat this lovely Salad on its own as a hearty and healthy Vegetarian dinner. Alternatively, it makes for a great side dish to pair with your favorite protein. It’s so versatile that it will work great with Pork, Beef, Chicken, Lamb, or Fish

Pea Mint and Barley Salad with Asparagus Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 cups of Water
• 1 cup of Pearl Barley, washed and strained
• 8 large Asparagus Spears, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 ½ cups of Frozen Peas
• 1 ½ cups of fresh Mint, roughly chopped
• 3 tbsp. Olive Oil
• 3 tbsp. Lemon Juice
• Salt
  
  

Instructions

1. Place 3 cups of Water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Season with ½ tsp. of Salt then add the Barley. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 35 minutes until tender, stirring occasionally
2. While the Barley is cooking, place a large bowl filled with ice / cold water in the sink. Bring another pot of water to the boil and add the Peas and Asparagus. Cook for 1 minute
3. Strain the Vegetables then place them into the ice water to immediately cool then. Once they are cold, place them in a Salad bowl along with the Mint
4. Make a simple dressing by combining Olive Oil, Lemon Juice, and ½ tsp. of Salt. Whisk to combine then drizzle over the Salad and mix through right before you are about to serve
5. Once the Barley is cooked, add it to the Salad and mix well before serving
   
   

Recipe Notes

• You can serve the Salad warm by adding the freshly cooked Barley, or cook the Barley in advance and allow it to cool before combining and serving
• For a richer flavor, try replacing 1 cup of Water with 1 cup of Chicken Stock when preparing the Barley
• Try finishing the Salad with some crumbly Feta Cheese for a nice creamy texture
  
  

This wonderful Pea Mint and Barley Salad with Asparagus is a bright and vibrant Salad that’s so versatile. Just as tasty as a side dish as it is on its own, you can enjoy this wonderful healthy dish any time of the year. The Barley gives the dish a lovely robustness which makes it a hearty and tasty meal

For more fun and healthy recipes just like this one, check out these tasty dishes:

• Coconut Poached Chicken Salad
• French Lentil Salad with Roast Vegetables
• Fire Roasted Cabbage with Red Pepper Yoghurt Sauce
• Watermelon and Mint Salad
  
  

Happy Cooking!