Summer Barley Salad, a variant of cold barley with vegetables cooked in an air fryer, equally quick, light, and tasty. Perfect for an everyday summer lunch, this barley salad is prepared in a few minutes.
The only cooking you need to think about is the pearled barley, but as you might already imagine, it will be cooked in a pressure cooker. An alternative cooking method to the traditional one, much more practical and allows you to maintain the nutritional properties of the food.
To this cereal, I then added cherry tomatoes, corn, cannellini beans, and olives, but you can choose the vegetables you prefer and let your imagination and tastes run wild. Seasoned with a few tablespoons of pesto, it will be the right harmony with all the other ingredients and will make this unique dish even more summery.
I admit, this time I used store-bought pesto. Yes, I know, homemade is absolutely the best, but tell me if you haven’t used this trick more than once to speed up the preparation of a lunch or dinner. And now, let’s go to the kitchen together, because the summer barley salad with cherry tomatoes, corn and olives will be ready in a click!
If you’re interested in other summer first courses, also read:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Preparation time: 25 Minutes
- Portions: 4People
- Cooking methods: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Summer
- Energy 355.35 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 72.97 (g) of which sugars 5.14 (g)
- Proteins 12.02 (g)
- Fat 5.44 (g) of which saturated 0.97 (g)of which unsaturated 4.08 (g)
- Fibers 10.14 (g)
- Sodium 1,561.37 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 242 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 1 cup pearled barley
- 3 cups water
- 1 1/2 tsp coarse salt
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup sweet corn (drained weight)
- 1/2 cup canned cannellini beans (drained weight)
- 1/4 cup pesto
- salt (to taste)
Tools
- Pressure Cooker
- Bowl
- Cutting Board
- Knife
Steps
First, rinse the barley under water, drain it, and transfer it to the pot. Then add the water and coarse salt. Close and bring the pot to maximum power. From the start of the whistle, cook at low heat for 4 minutes. Obviously, cooking times are relative and depend on the type of pot you own.
Once the cooking time has elapsed, let the pot vent and drain the barley, passing it under cold water to stop the cooking and cool it. Then drain it and transfer it to a bowl. Add the pesto and mix.
Now wash the cherry tomatoes, pat them dry with paper towels, and cut them into quarters. Drain the beans from the preservation liquid and rinse them under water. Then drain them and add them together with the previously cut cherry tomatoes in the bowl with the barley.
Then also add the olives and drained and rinsed corn, as you did for the beans, and mix.
Adjust salt, mix again, and serve at the table.
Storage and Tips for Barley Salad
The barley salad can be prepared in advance and stored in the refrigerator for 1 or 2 days in a container with a lid.
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FAQ Questions and Answers for Barley Salad
What can I substitute for cannellini beans?
Alternatively, you can use borlotti beans, chickpeas, or if you prefer to replace the legumes, you can add cheese like feta or primo sale, or even tuna.
