Toasted Barley Salad with Red Bell Pepper, Corn and Grilled Portobello Mushrooms

This was sort of a weird meal concept. A mishmash of barley and vegetables with a side of sliced portobello. I would normally expect the mushroom to be at least on top of the barley salad, or stuffed if it is used as a sideline item, but that was not the case here. Still, it spoke to me as I'm a fan of all of the ingredients and I put in the request to Derek to pick up the necessary ingredients to make this dinner happen.

Reading the recipe, you'll see that the grocery list wasn't exactly adequately fulfilled, however, we made due with what we had to produce a pleasing final product.

Toasted Barley Salad with Red Bell Pepper, Corn and Grilled Portobello Mushrooms


1/2 cup pearl barley (used 3/4 cup)
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth (used 2 1/4 cups)

1 poblano or green bell pepper (we couldn't fine poblano so used green)
1 red bell pepper (Derek left this in the cart...did not use...used a jalapeño instead to compensate for the lack of poblano and to add a kick)

2 large plum tomatoes, seeded, chopped (about 1 cup) (this item was forgotten, luckily we had some diced fire-roasted canned tomatoes that we drained and used)
1 cup fresh corn kernels (used frozen, it's winter!!)
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped green onions
2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
Nonstick olive oil spray (we used EVOO sprayed from a Misto)
2 large portobello mushrooms, stemmed, dark gills scraped away
6 large leaves spinach leaves (I used more, obviously)
Goat Cheese (crumbled) - our own addition

Place barley in heavy large saucepan. Cook over medium heat until pale golden, shaking pan occasionally, about 10 minutes. Add broth to pan and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until barley is tender and broth is absorbed, about 35 minutes. Uncover and let barley cool.

Char poblano and red bell pepper over gas flame or in broiler until blackened on all sides. Enclose in paper bag and let stand 10 minutes. Peel, seed and dice poblano and red bell pepper.

Place barley, poblano and red bell pepper (whichever peppers you use) in large bowl. Add tomatoes and next 5 ingredients; toss to blend. Season salad with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover; refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.)

Prepare barbecue, medium-high heat - (or grill pan). Spray mushrooms with nonstick spray (we used Misto to spray EVOO); sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill until cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to work surface; slice thinly.

Arrange spinach leaves on each plate. Top with barley salad. Arrange 1 sliced mushroom alongside each salad. Top mushroom with goat cheese crumbles, to taste. Serve while mushrooms are still warm.

What a healthy meal! Wow - this felt good to eat and was extremely satisfying and tasty. The dish, with winter-y ingredients such as barley and portobellos, bridged over to spring with the fresh lime, corn and cilantro.

If I were to make this again I would place the portobello slices on top of the barley mixture, along with the goat cheese. I would also consider doing a very light dressing on the spinach leaves - maybe even just some lemon juice with a touch of EVOO. It would also be great with a protein - some chicken slices on top. And I'd love to try it with poblano peppers since they are just fabulous roasted. But for having to substitute and alter ingredients as we did - the final product was very tasty.