Hordeum vulgare is a superfood!

I've been all about barley lately. As in, I can't get enough. I had no time this morning to make lunch this morning, so I threw the left over barley, frozen peas, and frozen spinach into a container and hit it with a little homemade Italian herb dressing. I expected this to provide nothing more than enough calories to sustain me until I got home. Wrong. It was tasty. And it prompted me to do a search on line for barley. I found this page on the Whole Foods website. As it turns out, it's packed full of goodness, like copper and selenium, helps regulate blood sugar very well, has tons of fiber, and can lower cholesterol better than oats. Yay barley!

Barley Salad with Arugula

I made this dinner this evening. I've made it before, with inspiration from the Big Boss Beer Dinner at Zely+Ritz last month. This is great on it's own, or could be good with sliced grilled flank steak or even grilled shrimp if you're so inclined.

salad:
2 cups cooked pearl barley
4 cups fresh, washed baby arugula (or rocket, rocket lettuce)
1 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms, raw
----
dressing:
1/2 cup seasoned rice wine vinegar (seasoned is better than non-seasoned)
1/2 cup mushroom flavored soy sauce (regular soy could work too)
1/4 cup toasted sesame oil

Combine barley, mushrooms, and arugula in a large serving bowl.
Combine vinegar and soy in bowl, whisk in oil. Pour on salad and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

If you are going to make this ahead, reserve dressing on the side and combine before serving. To do so otherwise will wilt your arugula. :P Bleh.

Notes:
I like to cook the barley in a large pot with more water than necessary. I find it keeps the barley from becoming gluey.

If you use regular arugula, you may wish to tear in half to make it more manageable when served.

Shiitake mushrooms are best, but expensive. Cremini, or baby portobello, are good too.