A simple and fresh recipe suitable for the heat of these days, this brown rice and barley salad is a recipe that comes about just because, simply by chance. 😊
The chance this time was the need to finish the leftover bags of brown rice and pearl barley that had been sitting in the pantry for a while and needed to be used.
Since mixed cereal packages are available for purchase, I thought, why not, I could also make my own cereal mix. Well, mix… let’s say my duo of cereals.
And if your leftover bags are more than two, take advantage and cook them all, because this recipe is applicable to all grains and all varieties of mixed cereals you want to try.
The other ingredients, that is, tomatoes, peas, corn, and basil, don’t need much explanation, they too arrived by chance 😁 meaning the chance that tomatoes are never missing in my rice or pasta salads because for me they are indispensable, the chance that my kids like peas (thank goodness!), corn because it goes great with peas for me, and basil because it’s there on the terrace growing in perfect form and its scent screams “yes, it’s summer!”.
Here’s the recipe, I made this brown rice and barley salad like this.
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Do you like rice (and cereal) salads? Here are more! 👇
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Affordable
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer
Ingredients
Obviously, ingredient quantities are also random. The beauty of rice or pasta salads is that you can make them to taste. 🤩
- brown rice
- frozen peas
- pearl barley
- sweet corn, canned, drained
- cherry tomatoes
- basil
- extra virgin olive oil
- red onion (optional addition)
- cottage cheese (optional addition)
Tools
- 2 Pots
- 1 Knife
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Casserole
- 1 Lid
Steps
Cook rice and barley separately, as they have slightly different cooking times.
👉 Depending on the brands, I’ve found different cooking times especially for brown rice (ranging from 30 to 50 minutes), so I recommend always checking the instructions on the packages.
In this case, the rice cooked in 40 minutes, while the barley took 25.
At the end of cooking, a brief immersion in cold water can be useful, though not mandatory, to stop the cooking and speed up the cooling.While the grains are cooking, also cook the peas.
Cook them directly from frozen in little water with a closed lid for about 10 minutes.Wash and cut the cherry tomatoes.
Drain the canned corn and rinse it with a stream of running water.
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, dress with oil and basil.
Let the brown rice and barley salad cool in the fridge for an hour or two, though I must say I also like it at room temperature.
Optional but highly recommended if you like it, add a bit of finely sliced red onion.
If you want to make this brown rice and barley salad vegetarian—which is naturally vegan as it is—you can add a dairy product: I tried with cottage cheese which made the dish slightly creamy, something my kids enjoyed.
Enjoy your meal!
Salt-Free Tips
Naturally, I didn’t add salt either in the cooking water for the rice or barley, nor to the peas. For those starting with a low-sodium diet and haven’t yet “trained” their palate, to compensate for the reduction of salt, I recommend using strong flavors like onion (better if left to rest in vinegar for a few minutes), or a valid option is minced garlic, which I often suggest. Also, in addition to basil, you can add other aromatic herbs like parsley, thyme, and sage.
If you are interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember to:
▫ Gradually decrease the salt, the palate needs to gradually adapt and should not notice the progressive reduction.
▫ Use spices. Chili, pepper, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cumin…
▫ Use aromatic herbs. Basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, mint…
▫ Use seeds. Sesame, pine nuts, almonds, nuts…
▫ Use spicy vegetables or fruits. Garlic, onion, lemon, orange…
▫ Use my salt-free vegetable granules and gomasio.
▫ Prefer fresh foods.
▫ Avoid cooking in water, prefer cooking methods that do not disperse flavors (grill, foil, steam, microwave)
▫ Avoid bringing the salt shaker to the table!
▫ Occasionally allow a break from the rule. It’s good for morale and helps to persevere.
If you don’t want to, or can’t, give up salt:
▫ You can still try my recipes by salting according to your habits.
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