Food Recipes Salads Grain Salads Barley Salad with Parsley and Walnuts 4.0 (2,992) Add your rating & review Barley is versatile enough to be served warm or at room temperature, as in this terrific salad with walnuts, parsley and salty bits of ricotta salata cheese in a lemon-garlic vinaigrette. It can be served as a main course or as a side for grilled chicken or pork. By Grace Parisi Grace Parisi Grace Parisi a former senior test kitchen editor for Food & Wine, where she wrote several successful monthly columns: Food & Wine Handbook, Tasting & Testing, Flavor of the Month, Power Pantry, and Chefs Recipes Made Easy. Parisi has also been published in McCall’s, Redbook, and The New York Times, has written five hit cookbooks, and has appeared numerous times on national television. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on May 18, 2017 Save Rate PRINT Share Close Photo: © Kana Okada Total Time: 40 mins Yield: 6 Cook Mode (Keep screen awake) Ingredients 1 1/4 cups pearled barley (9 ounces) 1 cup walnut halves (4 ounces) 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 garlic clove, minced 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest Salt and freshly ground pepper 1 cup packed flat-leaf parsley leaves 4 ounces ricotta salata, crumbled (about 1 cup) Directions Preheat the oven to 350°. In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the barley over high heat until tender, about 25 minutes. Drain the barley and rinse under cold water to cool thoroughly. Drain again, shaking out the excess water. Meanwhile, spread the walnuts in a pie plate and toast for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden and fragrant. Transfer to a cutting board and let cool. Coarsely chop the nuts. In a large bowl, whisk the lemon juice with the olive oil, garlic and lemon zest and season with salt and pepper. Add the barley, parsley and ricotta salata and toss gently. Add the toasted walnuts, toss again and serve. Make Ahead The salad can be refrigerated overnight. Originally appeared: May 2008 Rate It Print