Remember those early April days when it was so warm outside you could wear sandals and short sleeves with no jacket or anything? During one of those days I went to a barbecue with Jessica and her friend Reggie made this awesome barley salad. It was so good I remember getting seconds and wanting thirds, which I didn’t do because I didn’t know a lot of the people there and didn’t want to look like Miss Piggy! But I did get Reggie to tell me about the recipe and found it it was from Food and Wine magazine.
That weekend was Easter so I made the salad to bring to Kristin’s Easter dinner, where it was well received. Yay! I made the salad on Saturday and it definitely tasted better on Sunday, so for sure make a day ahead. The original recipe calls for pomegranate seeds. Reggie made it with craisins because pom is out of season. Since Kristin is allergic to cranberries, I made my salad with raisins. I think all of these options are tasty, so feel free to use whatever!
Pearled Barley Salad with Apples, Pomegranate Seeds and Pine Nuts
From Food & Wine
Total Time: 20 Minutes, Servings: 6
1/3 cup pine nuts, preferably from Italy (2 ounces)
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 small shallot, minced (2 tablespoons)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 cups Thyme-Scented Pearled Barley (Recipe below)
1 large tart apple, such as Honeycrisp, cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds (from 1 pomegranate)
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
Preheat the oven to 350°. Spread the pine nuts in a pie plate and toast until golden, about 5 minutes. Let cool.
In a bowl, whisk the oil with the vinegar and shallot and season with salt and pepper. Add the Thyme-Scented Pearled Barley, pine nuts, apple, pomegranate seeds and parsley; toss before serving.
The salad without the pine nuts can be refrigerated overnight. Bring the salad to room temperature before serving.
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Thyme-Scented Pearled Barley
From Food & Wine
Total Time: 25 Minutes, Servings: 4 cups
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups pearled barley (10 ounces)
1 small onion, finely diced
2 thyme sprigs
3 cups water
Kosher salt
In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add the pearled barley and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until lightly toasted; the grains will turn slightly opaque just before browning. Add the onion and thyme and cook over low heat, stirring, until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add the water and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over very low heat until the water is absorbed and the grains are tender. Fluff the grains and discard the thyme sprigs. Season the grains with salt and serve.
The cooked grains can be refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 1 month.
. This is a memoir that chronicles her pursuit of one night stands in short chapters that are easy to read on the train, so I whipped through the book in a couple days. If you really think a lot about this book, some of her behavior is pretty despicable, but if you just go with it and realize a lot of it is probably exaggerated, her profession is a performer and comedian after all, then it’s an amusing read. 
, which was written by a doctor about a patient of his who has 17 personalties. 
