When I first came up with the idea for this salad I was trying to figure out a way to use up some gorgeous green beans that we got from our CSA as well as some beautiful sweet peppers that we got at the farmers market.

And instead of using pasta or couscous I thought that barley would make a great base for the salad.

Barley is one of those little nutritional powerhouses that's a good thing to sneak into meals. It's filled with both soluble and insoluble fiber which means that it lowers cholesterol and it helps slow the absorption of sugar while helping to fight against certain types of cancer. It's also loaded with vitamins and is cholesterol free.

Oh, and the other great thing about barley is that it kind of rhymes with “money.” So, while I was chopping and cooking and blanching – I had the O'Jay's song “For the Love of Money” in my head. But I replaced “money” with “barley.”

“Barley, barley, barley, bah-leh.”

The salad tasted amazing. The vegetables, herbs and the barley all added up to a refreshing bowl of food, somehow both light and filling. This is going into heavy rotation for our lunches for the rest of the summer.

Barley and Green Bean Salad

1 cup of pearl barley

2 ½ cups of water or low sodium chicken or vegetable broth

1 cup of green beans, sliced into 1 inch pieces

1 cup of chopped cherry tomatoes

3 scallions, chopped

½ cup of diced sweet red pepper

¼ cup of chopped parsley

For the vinaigrette:

½ cup of olive oil

¼ cup of rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon of dijon mustard

2 teaspoons of chopped fresh dill

Salt and pepper

In a medium saucepan bring the barley and liquid to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and let cook for 35-40 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the barley. You want it to be firm, and not too soft. Drain off any remaining liquid. Let the barley cool for a few minutes and then refrigerate it for at least an hour.

In a small sauce pan, boil 3 cups of water. Cook the beans for about 2 minutes or until they are bright green and just tender. Drain the beans and drop them into a bowl of ice water, to stop them from continuing to cook. In a small bowl combine the vinaigrette ingredients and pour over the barley. Gently mix in the beans, tomatoes, scallions, red pepper and parsley.

Serves 4.

(Photos by Launie Kettler)