{"id":8606,"date":"2026-09-04T08:22:40","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T22:22:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dinnertimesomewhere.com\/?p=8606"},"modified":"2026-09-04T08:32:22","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T22:32:22","slug":"lamb-and-pea-barley-salad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dinnertimesomewhere.com\/index.php\/dinner\/lamb-dinner\/lamb-and-pea-barley-salad\/","title":{"rendered":"Lamb and Pea Barley Salad"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This bright and vibrant dish celebrates the pure flavor of its ingredients like no other. Our tasty Lamb and Pea Barley Salad is loaded with tasty fresh flavors that compliment each other so well. The classic pairing of Lamb with Peas and Mint is at the forefront of flavors in this dish. We also add some amazing, blanched Asparagus and Pearl Barley to the dish, giving even more wonderful flavors and body to the dish. It\u2019s a tasty meal that\u2019s hearty enough to feed a hungry family, yet ridiculously healthy for you too

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How to make Lamb and Pea Barley Salad<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are a few components to this dish and almost all of them fall into the preparation of the Salad. So, that\u2019s where we\u2019ll start with the recipe. The good news is the Salad is best served cold or at room temperature, so you can prepare it in advance and simply cook up the Lamb right before it\u2019s time to eat

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The ingredients in the Salad are Peas, Mint, Pearl Barley, and Asparagus. We also add some tasty seasonings and dressing to give the dish a luscious and vibrant flavor. What\u2019s important about preparing this Salad is we want the ingredients to taste as bright and fresh as they can be, which requires a cooking technique known as Blanching

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Blanching the Peas and Asparagus<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Blanching is a cooking technique that requires you to place the ingredients in boiling water for a very brief period so that they begin to release all their flavors and turn a luscious bright green color. They are then removed from the hot water and immediately cooled, which helps to retain that amazing color and texture that you expect from fresh produce

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Our Lamb and Pea Barley Salad uses a technique called ‘Blanching’, and produces the best tasting Peas and Asparagus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

For our Lamb and Pea Barley Salad you want to first cut up the Asparagus Spears into small pieces. Remove the very end of the Asparagus Stalks and then cut them on a 45-degree angle into small pieces. Then, bring a pot of water to the boil and season it with about 1 tsp. of Salt

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Cooking the Asparagus and Peas<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Place the Asparagus into the boiling water along with your Peas (frozen are more than fine, in fact they are the preferred way to prepare Peas these days) and cover, placing the pot straight back over a high heat

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The water may not come back to the boil due to the cold vegetables being added (especially those frozen Peas). So, simply give them about 1 minute in the water and then immediately strain them using a large sieve then place the Vegetables straight into a large bowl of ice water

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Ice water is best, but if you don\u2019t have any ice then I find that a large bowl of cold water sitting in the sink will work fine. I like to run cold water over the bowl continuously to allow the temperature in the water to stay cool once the hot Vegetables have been placed in there

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You\u2019ll notice the Peas and Asparagus will have the more beautiful bright green color. This is a technique that so many fancy restaurants use to get the best visual presentation out of these humble ingredients

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You can simply leave the Vegetables in the cold water while you prepare the Barley. Alternatively, you can make the Barley first to give it time to cool while you make the Veggies

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Cooking the Barley<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Making Barley is very easy, and most packs you can get from the grocery store will outline on the back how to cook it. It\u2019s basically 1 cup of Barley to 3 cups of Water. Bring the Water to a boil in a saucepan then place the Barley (which you should wash and strain prior)

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Then, drop the heat down to low and allow the Barley to simmer, uncovered, for 35 minutes until completely cooked. You will need to stir it every 5 \u2013 10 minutes to keep everything cooking evenly, but that\u2019s about it

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Another popular ingredient to use instead of Barley is Farro. They both have amazing texture and flavor, and work perfectly in this Lamb and Pea Barley Salad. Some recipes call for the use of Stock instead of Water, which usually we\u2019d advocate for. However, for this dish I find that Water works fine, and allows the flavor of the other Vegetables in the dish to shine

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The Salad is great on its own, or with all kinds of delicious proteins<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Finishing the Salad<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With the Veggies done all you now need to do is chop up some Mint (about 1 \u00bd cups worth, just give it a rough chop) and add it to a large bowl with the Asparagus, Peas, and Barley. Then we make a classic and simple dressing of Olvie Oil and Lemon Juice with some Salt

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Whisk the Salad dressing ingredients through in a separate bowl then set it aside \/ refrigerate until you are ready to serve. Then, just drizzle over as much as you like and mix it through the Salad. I recommend doing this right before serving to keep the ingredients as fresh as possible

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What type of Lamb should you use for this recipe?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With the Salad done it\u2019s time to move onto the Lamb to finalize this amazing Lamb and Pea Barley Salad. Lamb is a great protein to use as it pairs so well with Peas and Mint. You could however replace the Lamb with Beef, Pork, or Chicken and it\u2019s still going to be a tasty and hearty dish

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For the Lamb we recommend using a lean and tender cut, as it will be a lot easier to prepare and eat in the Salad. We use a Lamb Backstrap which is a wonderful Lamb cut. It\u2019s hearty and flavorful, but has the tenderness and leanness to it that you\u2019d expect from a Filet

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Other cuts of Lamb you can use for this dish is Rump or Tenderloin. I recommend avoiding Lamb Leg or Shoulder as these are much better cuts for roasting, not pan-searing which we\u2019re doing in this dish

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For the best results in your Lamb and Pea Barley Salad aim to cook the Lamb medium rare<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Cooking the Lamb<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To cook the Lamb just treat it like a Steak. Season it generously with Salt and then place it in a large frying pan over medium high heat with some Neutral Oil. Fry it for about 4 minutes on one side. Flip, drop the heat to medium and fry for 3 \u2013 4 minutes until the internal temperature is around 110F

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I like to serve Lamb medium rare, so once it\u2019s at temperature (use a meat thermometer to be sure), set it aside for 10 minutes to rest before slicing. Cut the Lamb with diagonal cuts then place it straight on the top of a big bowl of the Salad and serve

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