Barley Salad with Roasted Cauliflower and Edamame

I had bought a bag of pearled barley awhile ago for some recipe I didn't end up making and every time I opened the cabinet and saw it I thought, I should really make something with this. So I finally did.

I randomly found this recipe from Earthbound Farm with a Google search and decided it would be a good guideline for what I wanted to make. I also happened to have a head of cauliflower in the fridge because, shocker, I went back to Giant and it was still on sale!

If you have never made barley, I would absolutely recommend trying it. It is slightly chewy, nutty and absorbs flavors well. Apparently non-pearled barley is more nutritious than pearled barley, but it takes longer to cook. I would recommend keeping an eye on the barley when you are cooking it, too. The package of the barley I bought said 1 cup will cook in 3 cups of water for over an hour. The Earthbound Farm recipe says that 1 cup of barley will cook in 2 cups of water for 30-40 minutes. I made 1/2 cup barley in just over a cup of water and it was done in 20 minutes. Seems like a big discrepancy if you ask me. So keep an eye on it!

Barley Salad with Roasted Cauliflower and Edamame
Adapted from Earthbound Farm
Serves 3

Ingredients

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
Extra virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup pearled barley
1/2 lb frozen shelled edamame
Zest and juice of one lemon
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Ricotta salata
Handful of fresh flat leaf Italian parsley

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Toss the cauliflower with a couple tablespoons olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast until tender and slightly browned, about 30 minutes, stirring once.

2. Meanwhile, combine the barley, just over a cup of water, and some salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover the pan and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. (I didn't need to drain my barley; it absorbed all the water.) Transfer to a large bowl.

3. Cook the edamame according to package instructions. (The Harris Teeter brand I used suggests cooking in a bowl covered with plastic wrap in the microwave for 2 minutes. Next time I would try 1 min 45 seconds.) Add the edamame to the bowl with the barley.

3. To make the vinaigrette, whisk the lemon juice, zest, garlic, mustard, a pinch of salt, and a grind of pepper. While still whisking, slowly add a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a steady stream. Taste for seasoning. (If I wasn't lazy I would have added more lemon juice to my vinaigrette, but it was fine as it was.)

4. Add the roasted cauliflower to the barley/edamame mixture, then stir in the vinaigrette. Crumble in a bunch of ricotta salata (the originally recipe calls for 1 cup, but I probably only had about 1/2 cup), and mix in the parsley. Taste for seasoning (mine needed more salt) and enjoy!