Mediterranean Barley Rice Salad

Total Time: 32 mins Preparation Time: 12 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• 1 cup pearl barley
• 1 cup basmati rice
• 3 cups cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 red onion, large
• 1 red pepper
• 1 cucumber, english
• 4 cups baby spinach, coarsely chopped
• 1 (200 g) package feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Recipe

• 1 in saucepan of boiling salted water, cook barley until tender, about 20 minutes. drain and rinse under cold water; drain well. let stand for 10 minutes to dry. transfer to large bowl.
• 2 meanwhile, in a separate saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups salted water to boil. add rice; cover, reduce heat, and simmer until tender and no liquid remains, about 15 minutes. let stand for 5 minutes. add to barley mixture; let cool.
• 3 cut tomatoes in half; add to barley mixture. cut onion, red pepper, and cucumber into 1 inch chunks, add to barley, tossing to combine.
• 4 dressing: in a large bowl, whisk together oil, lemon juice, oregano, salt, and pepper, pour over salad and toss to coat. refrigerate for 30 minutes up to 24 hours.
• 5 to serve, stir in spinach and feta cheese.