Recipe | Warm, Asian-Dressed Barley Salad

2 cups cooked Barley
a couple tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 bell pepper - chopped
1 small red onion - chopped
a couple tbsp vegetable stock
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
1 cup frozen broccoli
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup thai lime, chili cashews, chopped
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
3 tbsp hoisin sauce
3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp sriracha
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix together the toasted sesame oil, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, and sriracha together in a bowl and set aside.

I used 10 minute barley and just made the whole package. Cook your barley according to package directions. You can either do this ahead of time and have it ready or you can cook your veggies and other components while you're waiting for the barley to cook. However, wait to cook your veggies until your barley is about half done if it's not quick cooking, other wise your veggies will get too soft and over cook and won't be delicious.

Anyway, set a large skillet to medium heat and add some extra virgin olive oil. Sweat the onions and peppers in there together for about 5-7 minutes. Add some salt and pepper. When they start to become translucent, add the fresh ginger and vegetable sauce. Stir to incorporate the ginger.

You can now add all of your frozen veggies, reduce the heat to simmer, cover with a lid, and wait until your barley is finished cooking. Add some more salt and pepper to this layer of veggies.

When your barley is done cooking, drain and add two cups of the cooked barley to your vegetables. introduce the sauce you made earlier and stir to combine everything. Taste for seasonings and add more salt and pepper is desired.

Top with your chopped thai, chili, lime cashews.

I served this as a side dish to just a veggie burger and it was quite filling. There was a load of leftovers so this would be a great dish to bring to a party or a picnic or something. It tastes great cold or room temperature, too!