The recipe this salad is based from, Mediterranean Barley with Chickpeas and Arugula from the April 2011 issue of Cooking Light, caught my eye as I was flipping through the magazine’s pages. I could identify all the ingredients just from looking at the photo, and they are all delicious. I had been looking for a light, high fiber dish that also had some protein in it that could keep in the fridge. J. often gets home late having not eaten since lunch, and a salad like this is the perfect small meal to tide him over until the next day.
I subbed wheat berries (the “berries” are really the entire kernel of wheat, with the hull removed) for the barley, since I had them in the house. You don’t have to soak them overnight, but they do take a long time to cook — about an hour. They have a similar texture and flavor to barley. I bought sun-dried tomatoes that were dry and reconstituted a handful in hot water before chopping them. I also added about three times the amount of arugula than the recipe called for, which made it more like grains in a green salad than greens in a grain dish. I forgot to sprinkle the pistachios on top the first time I ate this salad, and when I did add them the next day I didn’t think they added much. If you’re looking to save on cost or calories, you won’t miss them.
The heat from the drained wheat berries wilted the arugula just enough that it tasted blanched. I actually preferred the flavor of this meal the next day, once the arugula had soften even further. It is such a tough, hearty green that it easily holds up to several days in the fridge and still has some crunch to it. I think you could substitute kale with the same effect.
I really enjoyed this salad, and so did J. It felt like the kind of prepared salad you’d buy at a gourmet grocery. I’ll be making it again; it will be perfect for summer dinners.
I knew the salty, smooth olives, cool crunch of celery, and the creamy, tangy mayo would be the perfect accompaniment to the old reliable: leftover chicken. My chicken was left over from soup-making; but of course you can bake a couple of chicken breasts just to make this salad if you need to. Because, if you like olives and chicken, you NEED to make this recipe.
I used all light mayo, but much less than the recipe suggests (about a 1/4 c.) since I like my chicken salad just barely moistened. I also cut back on the green onion because I could smell how potent the batch I had was… but I still felt this flavor overpowered my dish. I had been tasting the salad as I added ingredients, so I knew I’d already made something deliciously memorable before adding the onions, yet I felt compelled to throw them in since I’d purchased them just for this recipe. I should have trusted my gut.
Even with the boldness of the onion, this is one chicken salad I will make over and over again. I’m already looking forward to eating leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
Sorry, you’re getting our leftovers. Pictures of them, anyway!
Roasted Beets with Feta hardly needed a recipe. I boil my beets rather than roasting them: I find this preparation to be neater, and I don’t notice a decrease in flavor at all. In fact, this batch of beets (from my farm share) was particularly flavorful, earthy and sweet. I followed the proportions given for the dressing in this recipe but made significantly more, since I poured it over three times as many beets plus a large bowl of salad. I sliced a brick of feta and served it on the side. This is a salad that can stand up to brisk weather, especially when paired with soup.
I tried a Crock-Pot Butternut Squash Soup from A Year of Slow Cooking (love that blog). I made several adjustments: 2 smallish squash (from my farm share), only 1 onion, only 1 apple, and turmeric instead of coriander because I didn’t have any. I used vegetable stock. Since I had my oven on to bake Brownie Roll-Out Cookies, I decided to roast the squash and onion rather than putting them into the crock raw or microwaved. They were fully cooked before they even joined the other ingredients in the slow cooker. I did use my immersion blender at the end to make it smooth and creamy, and needed to add an additional cup of water to thin it out a bit. This is a keep recipe for us — though none of the kids would try it (including my niece), I think they might be persuaded to in the future. Even J. had it later that night and thought it was very good.
Along with dinner rolls, this soup and salad combo was a well-received dinner (by the adults eating it — my various in-laws and me and J.) and a welcome lighter alternative to some of the meals I’ve been cooking for them lately.
I used two large garden cucumbers, and peeled and cut them early in the day. I allowed them to sit on a bed of paper towels in the fridge for a couple of hours before I put the salad together, I did not find them to be too wet at all, and that was without salting them. I also used skim milk instead of buttermilk, and apple cider vinegar instead of red wine.
My parents and I liked this salad, and it is crisp and cool — perfect for summer. I think adding pepper (I forgot to) and perhaps some chives or minced scallions would really be fantastic. Since my Dad just gave me a big cuke from his garden, and I received 3 more in today’s CSA share, I anticipate many more cucumber-based salads in the near future.
I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two school-aged boys and husband. Feeding my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more about me and CITK, and keep in touch:
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Moroccan Chicken Tajine: I recently had a chicken tajine dish at Fig & Olive in Scarsdale, and wanted to recreate something similar at home. This is an Ina Garten recipe, and she never fails me.
I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two school-aged boys and husband. Feeding my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more 
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