A few years ago at one of our book club pool parties, someone brought an awesome Caprese barley salad. We all devoured the entire bowl if I remember correctly. It was so delicious and light yet filling, so I looked up the recipe later to try and recreate it. I swore I pinned it but it seems like I didn't, so tonight I winged it to see if I could get it to be just as good as it was then. And this time, I'm pinning it plus it'll be here too. I thought about this salad today because we had another summertime pool book club meeting, but no barley salad this go round.

With tomatoes and basil right in the peak of freshness now, it's also an excellent time for me to trim back these basil bushes. I just made pesto last week and I've still got this much left!

It's time to cut a few of these plants back and make Caprese pearl barley salad while the summer flavors are at their absolute peak. If you can find pearl mozzarella too, those are my preferred cheese of choice here, but you can cut a larger ball of Buffalo mozzarella into small pieces too and it'll taste just as great.

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Caprese Pearl Barley Salad

Get the flavors of a caprese salad but also a hit of protein and fiber from pearl barley — combine them into a delicious grain bowl salad!

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Keyword basil, pearl barley, tomatoes

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 40

Total Time 55

Servings 4 servings

Author April

Ingredients

1 cup pearled barley
3 cups vegetable stock or water
Mozzarella pearls (I love these BelGioioso fresh mozz pearls)
1 pint grape tomatoes sliced in half
1 cup loosely packed basil cut in ribbons
2 tbsp olive oil or extra virgin if you prefer
3 tbsp good balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Combine the stock or water in a pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 35-40 minutes.
In the meantime, slice the tomatoes, cut the basil, and separate the mozzarella pearls.
Combine the oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper and whisk til emulsified… or put it in a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake well to combine.
When the barley is done cooking, drain out any excess liquid.
Add the dressing and the tomatoes.
Once the barley has cooled a bit, add the basil and mozzarella pearls.
It can be served hot or cold. Season to taste.

This salad falls into the category of what I like to call "leafless salads" because it is a salad that doesn't rely on traditional lettuce leaves to comprise the bulk of it. Green leaf salads can get boring after a while even if you mix up the toppings and dressings. Eating a leafless salad every so often is a great way to still get in your vegetables and protein in a one-bowl setting, but in a new and interesting way.