Greek Inspired Barley Salad

My husband recently stumbled on an Easy Greek Barley Salad recipe from the National Barley Foods Council. We are always looking for ways to sneak new grains into our diets. We also love recipes that we can put some extra vegetation into.  This recipe accomplishes both, so we gave it a try this weekend. We did make some changes to the recipe, so here is what we came up with: (Kuddos to my husband for making this yesterday so I didn't have to put dinner together!)

Ingredients:

1 cup pearl barley or whole grain barley
3 cups water
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tsp fresh oregano
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1/4-1/2 cup red cabbage, finely chopped
5 oz fat free feta
Salt
**possible addition: black olives

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, bring water with a little salt to a boil. Next, add your barley and return to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for approximately 45 minutes (50-55 minutes for whole grain barley). Barley should be tender and liquid absorbed. If there is a little fluid left once the barley is tender, you can pour it off.

In a bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, oregano, and 1/4 tsp of salt. Then, mix the dressing with the warm barley. Allow the mixture to cool. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Note: I tried the salad with red cabbage and I loved the addition. It added more color and crispness. My husband suggested adding black olives, which we will do next time.

This recipe makes 6 healthy servings. It is a great option for upcoming Super Bowl parties as well as luncheons and BBQs. By cutting the amount of olive oil in the original recipe as well as choosing fat free feta, we significantly lowered the fat content of this dish without losing the flavor!