Barley And Kale Salad With Golden Beets And Feta Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Wrap the beets individually in foil. Bake until tender when pierced with a fork, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. When cool enough to handle, peel the beets and cut into bite-size pieces.
• While the beets are roasting, make the barley: Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Add the barley and 1/2 teaspoon salt, and simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes, or until al dente.
• While the barley is cooking, make the salad dressing: Squeeze the juice from the lemon (about 2 tablespoons) into a small bowl. Add the garlic and date honey, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the olive oil and set aside.
• When the barley is cooked, drain, rinse and drain again. Taste, adding more salt, if necessary, and let cool completely.
• When ready to serve, use your hands to gently mix the lettuce and herbs in a large salad bowl and scatter on the barley, beets, celery, cucumbers, shallots, figs and grapes. Top with the olives, pomegranate seeds and feta, and sprinkle on the dressing. Mix at the table and serve immediately.

Steps:

• Whisk 1/4 C olive oil, white wine vinegar, sugar and orange zest in a large bowl to blend; season with salt and pepper. Add kale and shallots; mix until completely coated. Cover and chill 3 hours or until kale is tender.
• Alternative method: Use garden kale that was blanched and frozen and skip the time needed to wilt.
• Preheat oven to 375. Arrange beets in baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and turn beets to coat. Cover with foil. Bake until tender (about 45 minutes). Let cool; peel and dice into 1/4" pieces.
• Cook barley per instructions. Drain if needed and spread out on baking sheet to dry (I didn't need to do this with the hull-less barley_
• Add beets, barley and feta to kale. Drizzle salad with 2 T olive oil and 2 T rice vinegar; fold gently to combine. Season with salt and pepper and more rice vinegar as needed. Cover and chill. Can be made 2 days in advance.

Steps:

• Whisk ¼ oil, white wine vinegar, sugar, and orange zest in a large bowl to blend; season with salt and pepper. Add kale and shallots; mix until completely coated. Cover and chill until kale is tender, at least 3 hours. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 F. Arrange beets in a small baking dish and drizzle with a little oil. Season with salt and turn beets to coat. Cover with foil. Bake beets until tender when pierced with a thin knife, about 45 minutes. Let cool completely. Peel beets. Cut into 1/4" pieces (you should have about 2 cups). Cook barley in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, about 45 minutes. Drain barley and spread out on a rimmed baking sheet; let cool completely. Add beets, barley, and feta to kale. Drizzle salad with remaining 2 Tbsp. oil and 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar; fold gently to combine. Season to taste with pepper and more rice vinegar, if desired. DO AHEAD: Salad can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill.