Tender and chewy barley grains tossed with sweet golden beets and sautรฉed greens, with crunchy toasted walnuts and salty feta cheese, this barley salad with golden beets is so good it will sell beets to professed beet haters.ย
Three tips for selling beets to beet haters:
- First–start with golden beets. They are sweeter than the red ones and beet’sย earthy flavor is less apparent.
- Second–roast those beautifulย golden beets. Roasting beets, in the oven or on aย grill, concentrates their sweet flavor component, much more so than whenย beets are boiled.
- Third–catch the beet-hater off guard. ย Hide them in a grain salad with spicy vinaigrette, like this barley salad with golden beets.
When you find beets with the healthy greens intact, cook and enjoy those greens–it’s like getting 2 vegetables for the price of one. In this recipe we sautรฉ the greens in coconut oil with mustard and cumin seeds and chopped onion, then toss the seasoned wilted greens in with the barley and roasted beets, walnuts and feta cheese!
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Barley Salad with Golden Beets and Their Greens
Ingredients
- 4 medium beets , including their green tops
- 1 cup pearl barley , rinsed
- ยฝ plus ยฝ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds
- 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
- 1 cup chopped red onion
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar, or freshly squeezed lemon juice
- โ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 to 3 ounces feta cheese , crumbled
- ยฝ cup coarsely chopped walnuts , lightly toasted
Instructions
- Heat a grill or oven to medium-high or 350ยฐ F. Cut the tops off the beets and set them aside. Gently scrub any dirt from the beets and wrap them up in foil. Place the beets on the grill and grill-roast until they are-fork-tender, 45 minutes to an hour. Let them cool until you can handle them, then slip off the peel with your fingers. Dice the beets into ยฝ-inch cubes.
- Meanwhile, in a saucepan bring 3 to 4 cups of water to a boil. Stir in the barley and the first ยฝ teaspoon of the salt. Return to a simmer. Cook until the barley is tender to your tooth, about 30 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Wash the beet greens. Strip away and discard the stems. Cut the greens into ribbons, about ยผ-inch thick.
- Heat the coconut oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the mustard and cumin seeds along with the onion. Cook until the onion turns translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. The mustard seeds will pop noisily. Add the beet greens and cook, stirring every so often, until the greens have wilted, about 5 minutes.
- Mix the chopped beets, barley, and wilted greens in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk the olive oil with the vinegar, the remaining salt and the cayenne. (see note)
- Pour the dressing over salad, tossing until everything is lightly coated and well mixed. Refrigerate until the beets and barley are cold.
- To serve, toss in the feta and chopped walnuts. Taste and adjust the salt and cayenne if you determine the salad needs more seasoning.
Great tip Letty. I was a beet hater for years and found that if I grated them and added cheese and spices and then cooked them as patties, it went very well. · 23 August, 2012
Where do I find real whole golden beets for your recipe? All I find to order are golden beet seeds. I wish I could find the vegetable in Kansas City, MO or on-line. Thank You! · 10 January, 2020
Hi Kathy, I have bought them in the organic produce section of my local Kroger store. So many stores cut off the greens thinking no one wants them. Though the greens do spoil quickly. As you figured out, golden beets with leafy greens are not readily unavailable this time of year. Look for them in summer at Farmer’s Market and I got the ones for the recipe in August!
In winter, you can usually find gold beets without the greens. When you can’t get beet greens, sub in rainbow chard for the golden beet greens.
Letty · 11 January, 2020
Kathy, Frieda’s Produce may have them. You could ask your grocer.
https://www.friedas.com/products/gold-beets/ · 11 January, 2020