barley and corn salad with arugula and haricot vert
I have an affliction of sorts; no matter how fantastic, transcendent a recipe has been or how much I’ve sung it’s praises from the high mountaintops, I almost never make it a second time. I thought I could blame this website, always pushing me forward and urging me to try new! different! shiny! things, but who am I kidding? I’ve always been this way. Though I always say I’m just looking for tried-and-true recipes to laminate, frame, and keep forever, those that will never fail you or me so that I can stop looking, it’s not true. I’m still looking. I’ll always be looking.
There are exceptions. In one week, I made the Black Bean Confetti Salad twice, shocking myself as much as my dining partner. There have been two batches of Russian Black Bread because a week without it is a week I don’t want any part of. As summer comes ’round again, I’ll be certain to make a new batch of barbeque sauce and the strawberry lemon sorbet so good, you’ll eat none other again. But for the most part, if I’ve cooked something that you’ve liked, you best stuff yourself good and well with it because you’ll probably never see it again.
Poor Alex, right? In recent months, he’s politely requested some repeat meals, from those feta and couscous stuffed peppers, that acorn squash with chile-lime vinaigrette and wild mushroom pirogis, and been denied each time. “But I’ve made that already! I want something new!” Sometimes, fearful of sounding like a broken record, I shift my answer, like when he requested the eggplant, mint and barley salad on Monday. “It seems like more of a cold weather dish!” But not wanting to feel like too much of a green meanie, I set out to find a spring version of it, and ended up making an adapted version of this old Bon Appetit recipe.
Actually, I adapted it a ton. First of all, whole beans in a spoke pattern? Scattered lettuce? I confess I don’t have a lot of patience for fusspot arrangements. I don’t care if it looks pretty, if it doesn’t actually add to the flavor of the dish, I can’t be arsed with any of it. Second, I never thought I’d say this, but it had way too much arugula in it, so I ended up only using half. But otherwise, I made the salad somewhat as directed and we liked it. A lot. I mean, it’s really good, a great big bowl of spring flavors, especially alongside the biggest artichokes I’ve ever seen. But it is no minted eggplant barley salad, and it’s not like he hadn’t asked nicely.
So if I bump recipes up from the archives here and there over the next couple months, it’s not because I’m not cooking much these days, it’s because I letting my hard work pay off, and getting to eat again what was once phenomenal. In fact, I’m thinking some moules with baked pommes frites are immediately in order. I’m sure you agree.
Barley and Corn Salad with Arugula and Haricot Vert
Adapted from Bon Appetit, July 1998
Seving size: The original recipe said it served six, but suspecting it would make much, much more, I halved it, leaving an amount I think would easily serve four people.
1/3 cup pearl barley
1/2 pound haricot vert (slim green beans) trimmed and cut into 2″ segments
1 cup fresh corn kernels (from about 1 large ear)
1 large bunch of arugula (about 4 ounces total)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/8 cup white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons minced shallots
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
4 tablespoons soft fresh goat cheese (such as Montrachet), crumbled
Cook barley in medium saucepan of boiling salted water until tender, about 30 to 40 minutes. Drain; cool. Transfer to large bowl.
Cook haricot vert in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain. Transfer beans to bowl of ice water to cool. Drain well. Transfer to bowl with barley. Mix in corn kernels. Coarsely chop washed and dried arugula; add to bowl with barley mixture.
Whisk olive oil, vinegar, shallots, thyme and Dijon mustard in small bowl to blend. Pour enough dressing over barley mixture to coat. Season salad to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with goat cheese and serve alongside any remaining dressing.
You’re starting to sound like me, Deb. One of the reasons I started blogging was so that my wife could follow behind and document what I’d done in the kitchen, so that there was some chance I could make it again.
It’s the downside of just grabbing ingredients as they seem right. when it’s truly great, there’s no way to recreate it
Just sent this off to my Crazy Chef Husband who will no doubt have it waiting for me by the time I get home. Looks delish and I’ve been looking for a new summer salad - This might be the one - Have I found true love… Time will tell ;)
The photos of the bowl of beans and the artichoke are amazing! I love the sound of this salad - what a perfect summer treat
Your photography is splendid as always. That salad looks yummy! Too bad there’s no arugala in town. :(
Now I must go buy artichokes…
Darn you woman! =P
I love making salads with haricots vertes, but I always trade out the grains for bacon.
I’m always annoyed when I find an inspiring recipe and I have none, NONE of the ingredients. Must I go to the store yet again?!
Jerry — Heh. I figured I wasn’t alone. I think it’s two things, really. I dorkily want perfect recipes to hand down to my kids and I also feel burned by the gazillion bad recipes out there. From people who got paid to publish them! Thusly, when I find something that works spectacularly, I can’t shut up about it. I want everyone to know. And then I never make it again. ;)
Tams — What? Where do you get one of those? I mean, I won’t trade Alex in for all that AND a bag of chips, but but but, your arrangement sounds very cool.
Rachael — Unrelated, but I forgot to add that I used Cascadian Farms frozen corn. No fresh corn available yet, much to my dismay, especially because I have big, unhealthy issues with corn that comes already detached from the cob… I’ll shut up now. We already know way too much about my food issues.
Alicia — What a bummer! I’m sure spinach or another leafy green would do.
Lisa — “I always trade out the grains for bacon.” This is why we love you.
Brandon — Ha! I go to the store almost daily. It’s out of control.
Congrats on being fetured in the June Fitness magazine (blog news and reviews)
No corn yet? See sometimes it pays to live in Florida. I had some GREAT corn on the cob last week. I had feared it might be too early in the season but it was not!
My husband rarely asks for things, and when he does it is either, spaghetti and meatballs, cheeseburgers, macaroni and cheese. Last night he asked for veggie burgers and I almost fell over. I think it may time to go to the next level in meatless entres. Bean and rice burritos maybe?
This looks so fresh! So light! So healthy! It looks like the kind of meal that would make you feel, after eating it, that you are good at life. Know what I mean?
any idea why my barley doesnt cook up nice and pretty like yours? I follow the directions on the box and its always soupy and the barley is, like, ick. I have to drain it and spread it out on a baking pan.. it gets like, gummy?
Help !!
No advise on the chorizo issue?
Amen! Pretty doesn’t equal tasty. I’ve been in many a restaurant where my dinner looked like art and tasted like *#&%! Also, I love the artichoke picture, that thing is a big as a baby’s head! I hope it was utterly delish.
As for the recipe, it’s on the list but I shan’t be cooking for awhile. It’s too hard to take Le Creuset on a plane and it doesn’t do too well in microwaves. *Sigh*
Deb, I like trying new stuff too, much more so now that I’m blogging, I’ll admit. New is interesting, challenging, fun and, well, new.
But there’s something to be said about the comfort of old favorites. There is almost nothing so homey as familiar, enticing cooking smells, followed by delicious remembered flavors. To me, that’s a big part of what makes home cooking home cooking.
I agree, fussy arrangements are usually not worth the effort. Your salad, with its festive array of bright colors and contrasting textures, needs no embellishment. I think heavily arranged foods are an old-fashioned notion, gone the way of jello molds and the like (though I do dabble in cake decorating and I love the stuff at http://www.latartinegourmande.com/). These days, savvy cooks and gourmands know that it’s more appealing if the natural beauty of fresh seasonal produce is allowed to shine.
I too cannot make the same recipe twice, nor can I order the same thing at a restaurant more than once. There is just so much out there worth trying! Though I do admit there’s a certain flourless chocolate cake that I cannot help but make again and again. :)
I have not been able to find your “Russin Black Bread” recipe
thank you
Whether it was what was requested r not, it sounds (and looks) really great.. and spring-y. I am heading to the fresh corn and arugula!!
This looks really great! Makes me think of the warmer months we’re heading in to.
Yuck! I loved the look of this salad, but it tastes like nothing but white wine vinegar. I totally ruined the wonderful Vouvray we bought to go with it.
David — You are absolutely right! The vinegar level is completely and totally wrong. My deepest apologies. I will fix it now, though I’m sure that’s little help to you at this point.
There’s a woman in one of my cooking groups who never makes anything twice. I tell her that practice makes perfect — sometimes you need to make a dish over and over in order to really understand and internalize it. Or maybe that’s my rationalization for making the same recipes over and over….!
i understand the urge to never make the same thing twice and except for a few staples like beans & rice, pasta sauce, yellow cake with chocolate frosting, i am totally there with you. and this recipe looks good enough to try twice!
I made this salad tonight and it is a keeper. I didn’t have pearl barley or goat cheese but I added sliced hearts of palm. My youngest daughter said she doesn’t like Arugula cause it looks likes weeds-she ate it and ejoyed it. Thanks for another good idea!!
i made this salad for lunch today and it is divine! love it!! the sweet corn and the bitter arugula are perfectly matched! i have a link on my blog to you because everything i get from here is soooooooo yummy! thanks for a great recipe!
Delicious!!!
Sorry :(