Persian Lentil & Barley Salad
This delicious Persian Lentil & Barley Salad is a great side dish for dinner or lunch by itself.
It is gluten-free, dairy-free, egg free and suitable for vegan and vegetarian diets.
Cook the lentils yourself or substitute tinned lentils, well rinsed. Always choose organic lentils in a BPA free can as the best option.
If you don’t want to use pearl barley, you can substitute this with cooked and cooled brown rice.
If you can tolerate dairy, a little feta cheese is also a nice addition to this salad.
The Persian style of this salad lends it really well to serving with lamb – whether that’s a slow roasted shoulder or grilled lamb chops.
The festive cranberries and pomegranate make it a great salad to include for Christmas lunch!
Persian Lentil & Barley Salad
- 1 cup cooked brown or green lentils
- ½ cup of cooked pearl barley
- ½ red onion finely chopped
- ¼ cup slivered almonds
- ¼ cup of currants or chopped cranberries
- ¼ cup of pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
- ½ cup of chopped parsley
- 2 tbsp chopped mint
- ½ cup of pomegranate seeds (arils)
Dressing:
- 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup lime juice (can use lemon juice)
- 1 tbsp honey or maple syrup
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
In a large bowl mix all the salad ingredients together.
Place all dressing ingredients together in a jar and shake well.
Pour the dressing over the salad and combine well.
You can dress the salad an hour or two before eating to allow the flavours to mix.
I hope you enjoy this Persian Lentil & Barley Salad ! Let me know how you go with it and tag me on socials @dianarobsonnaturopathy
You might like to also try some of my other recipes.