Barley Asparagus Salad

You can use plain red onion in this salad instead of the pickled red onion if you’re in a hurry. But the pickled onion gives this salad an extra tasty zing. Feel free to add other ingredients like chopped fresh herbs and microgreens. Cherry tomatoes might also be nice. Experiment!

2 cups cooked barley*
1 small bunch asparagus, trimmed, cut into bite size pieces
1 stalk celery, sliced thin
1/2 cup pickled red onion
Optional: 3 slices cooked chopped bacon or 1 cup cooked beans, your choice
Dijon vinaigrette, to taste
Sea salt & black pepper, to taste

Dijon Vinaigrette:
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon good quality Dijon mustard
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
big pinch sugar
salt, to taste

1. Steam the asparagus until tender crisp. Rinse in cold water and drain well.
2. Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. Add the barley, asparagus, celery, red onion, and optional bacon to the bowl. Drizzle with some of the vinaigrette and sprinkle with black pepper. Toss everything to coat evenly. Taste and add more vinaigrette and/salt as needed.

*To cook the barley: Bring 1 cup pearled barley and 3 cups water to a boil. Add 1 teaspoon salt. Reduce heat to low, partially cover, and simmer for 30 minutes or until tender. Let cool.