Barley and Pomegranate Salad

I am indebted to my lovely Jo who pointed out that I haven't posted here in a week. It's been one of those weeks, and I haven't been cooking much. When I have been cooking, it's been the likes of tea and toast and no one cares about that. ^_~

I was planning to go to yoga tonight (I try to go four nights a week), but it is minus-freaking-ridiculous outside (-38C with the windchill) and because I walk two kilometres each way to get to the studio I decided to stay in and take advantage of the found time to cook a bit.

I've been thinking about people lately, and the way that social media connects them. I am indebted to Facebook because it means that I get to have more participation in the lives of people I care about - valuable when your friends and family are more than a thousand kilometres away, or in some cases across oceans. Tonight while I was cooking I was thinking of my friend Courtney - I haven't seen her in years in person, but I have followed her travels around numerous countries in the last year through Facebook and her blog, something I wouldn't have been able to do without social media as we've never really been pen pals or anything like. One of the things she missed while she was travelling was pomegranates, and now whenever I see them I inevitably think of her. ^_^

This salad is unbelievably simple and incredibly delicious. I really wasn't sure what I was going to think of it because the flavourings seemed all over the map to me, but oh wow. I can see making this again and again... As usual, the ingredients are directly from the book and the description incorporates my observations and adjustments.

Barley and Pomegranate Salad
(p. 238, Plenty)

Serves 4

1 cup pearl barley
6 celery stalks (leaves picked and reserved), cut into small dice
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tbsp sherry vinegar
2 small garlic cloves, crushed
2/3 tsp ground allspice
salt and black pepper
3 tbsp chopped dill
3 tbsp chopped parsley
seeds from 2 large pomegranates

Assemble the ingredients! I halved the recipe because I was short on pearl barley, having made a beef and barley stew a little while ago. As an aside, I don't like how yellow my photographs are. I think I might need to change the lighting system in my kitchen to combat that... or maybe it's the cutting board... the photos where the board is not on the counter are much whiter. Remember when I said I wasn't much of a food photographer? Still true. ^_^

 Rinse the barley with cold water, then place in a medium saucepan and cover with plenty of fresh water. Simmer for 30-35 minutes or until tender but still firm.

While the barley is cooking, prep your other ingredients - dice the celery, chop the herbs, measure the liquids and spices, and seed the pomegranate(s). I used apple cider vinegar because I didn't have sherry vinegar. I find the easiest way to seed pomegranates is to cut them in half horizontally and then gently crack them so you can invert them. Some people cut them in half horizontally and then hit the skin side with a wooden spoon over a bowl - apparently the seeds will fall out. I haven't managed to make that method work. Another option I've read about is breaking them up into a bowl of water - the seeds will sink and the pith will float for easy separation. Regardless of how you do it, just make sure to check through your seeds for any bits of pith as you probably don't want to eat that.

 When cooked, drain the barley and transfer it to a mixing bowl.

While the barley is hot, add the celery, olive oil, vinegar, garlic (I chopped mine instead of crushing it), allspice, and some salt and pepper. Stir and then leave to cool down completely.

Once cool, stir in the herbs, celery leaves, and pomegranate seeds and mix together. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper to your liking, then serve.

I ended up mixing everything while it was still warm because I was impatient and wanted supper, and it was still delicious. And easy! So easy... I think it might be fun to sub out the celery for broccolini or asparagus. But asparagus was $10/lb at the local Safeway, so that variation will have to wait a while.

Eat it! You know you want to...