One of my favorite parts about where I live is that I have friends close by. This is convenient and enjoyable for many reasons, but the at the top of the list is probably the sentence: “I made extra __________ for dinner, want to come over?” I’ve been on both the uttering and receiving end of that very sentence a pleasant many times and most recently, the stars aligned when I had extra salmon and Angie had extra salad.
Combined, we had an actual meal.
Though I’ve never been disappointed by one of Angie’s Greek or spinach salads (she makes kick-ass salad dressings and I wouldn’t say that lightly), this was a nice change from leafy greens. Think: flavorful pesto sauce combined with hearty barley dotted with edamame. There is nothing bad about anything in that sentence and it was even better cold the next day.
The recipe was slightly adapted from another food blog. We had a little snafu during the pesto-making process and wound up adding extra lemon juice as well as spinach to the pesto recipe, only to discover that we kinda liked it that way. Though the spinach wasn’t in the original version, I am a big fan of adding spinach to pesto sauce. It has little impact on the flavor but adds to the nutritional profile.
Pesto, Barley & Edamame Salad
Recipe Adapted from Bitchin’ Camero
What You Need:
For the pesto:
2 cups basil leaves, loosely packed
1 cup baby spinach leaves, loosely packed
1 cup slivered raw almonds
4 cloves garlic
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons. lemon juice
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
For the salad:
4 cups cooked barley (about 2 cups uncooked prepared according to package directions)*
1 pound. shelled, frozen edamame beans
How-To:
Prepare the pesto. Blend by blending all of the ingredients together in a food processor until the ingredients are completely combined (and no longer visible individually). Set aside.
Meanwhile, blanch the edamame. Set aside a bowl of cold ice water large enough to hold all of the edamame. Boil edamame in a pot for about five minutes until they are tender but still firm. Drain in a colander and pour directly into the ice water, which stops them from cooking further and keeps them firm and crisp.
In a large bowl, toss the cooked barley with the edamame and half the pesto mixture. Taste and add more pesto if needed. Continue tasting and adding more sauce until you are satisfied with the ratio of pesto to barley. Save leftover pesto in an airtight container for up to a week or freeze it in a plastic bag for up to a month. Makes 8 – 10 side servings and 4 – 6 main servings.
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{ 61 comments… read them below or add one }
I love that you live near friends and have the opportunity to share whatever you make/whatever they make. That has been one of my favorite things about moving back to Louisiana for us… we have a ton of friends down here, and we end up having tons of impromptu dinner parties because of this.
And this pesto sounds incredible. I’d never had spinach in pesto until a few weeks ago, and this sounds like the perfect summery meal that I am going to have to make soon. Maybe tonight!
This looks so lovely! And I love that you can share food with your friends like that!
I LOVE edamame with a capital L. It’s one of my favorite go-to snacks when I want something but don’t want something bad. Great mix up!
ha love it, i did the SAME thing with friends last night
i hear ya! i’m so thankful that lots of our friends + family live within minutes of our house. they’re my taste-testers + always willing to come over + help eat with us! we’re a lucky bunch. =)
Wow, three of my favourite things in one recipe! This one has been bookmarked.
Yum!!!! Living with friends close by is the best
aren’t friends the best? yummy salad, love the color!!
These are some of my favorite ingredients all in one salad
I need to start utilizing grains more. For whatever reason I’m not feeling the barley, but that picture does look delish, and I LOVE pesto and edamame so perhapsssss I’d enjoy it!
Again thanks for all the lovely comments!
great salad never used barley before and thanks for your kind comment but your the pro
I eat edamame almost every day. This looks delish!
Share? Blink, blink…I don’t know the meaning of that! :-p
Love the vibrant colors of this dish! I enjoy barley so much, the chewy texture is so enjoyable.
I have come to really like endamame even though I still cannot pronounce it!
Yea! More pesto! I haven’t done almonds with pesto, but looks fabulous. I can’t eat the barley, but bet it would be great with pasta or quinoa too. Great to share food with friends
A great, colorful salad. I’ve been looking for ideas on what to do with the frozen edamame I’ve bought in Whole Foods – this is a terrific idea!
Mmmmmm….that looks SUPER tasty. Great combo
Hi Maris,
Sounds like a great evening. Have you ever tried farro before, I love it and it has a nice texture like barley, but I think it cooks quicker. Hope you are having a great week.
-Gina-
I love the flavors and healthfulness of this salad. You can’t go wrong with pesto flavors and then using it with barley…definitely good stuff. Great dish that can be either a main or side!
That looks good! I love anything with edmame. Or pesto. That is so awesome tha tyou have friends near by that you can invite over if you have extras or vice versa!
Maris…I love the addition of spinach to the pesto! And I love edamame! What I am intrigued and excited to try is the barley….as a salad! Nice to see it outside of a soup! : )
yay for vegan clean eating!!! whooohooo! this is an awesome recipe, full of flavor, packed with protein, healthy fat, and good carbs.
I’m with you on adding spinach! It adds a lot but doesn’t really affect the taste!
I wish you lived near me, so that you can say I can come for dinner
Now, I wish my friends live in my neighborhood!
I love the sound of the almond and spinach in this and using the barley instead of pasta. It’s really difficult to get barley here, that just makes me want it even more!!
Pout. I wish I had more people to drag over for dinner.
I could add pesto to just about any meal and I’d be super happy. This is the quintessential summer salad, especially with barley, one of my favorite grains!
Okay so I love pesto, I love barley and I love love love edamame so basically you made this dish with me in mind-right? Great and beautiful dish that I can’t wait to get in my tummy!LOL!
How awesome it is that you are able to share with each other! I need some foodie friends near me.
I love pesto, it works with many dishes. What a great combination of grean vegetables and the edamame looks awesome!
This looks like a deliciously healthy salad! Never thought of barley in a salad but this seems like a great recipe!
Another great summer meal!
What an awesome dish!
Pesto in the summer – nothing better!
I think I need to move closer to you. This looks delicious. I love pesto with spinach in it, too. It adds and earthiness that I like a lot.
I’ve recently fell in love with edamame – it’s a great way to get some protein on my meatless days. This recipe is being bookmarked for sure!
I love sharing fabulous meals with friends, but even more than that I enjoy sharing fabulous meals with my Grandma! We’re both foodies, so things can get a little crazy and the family thinks we’re kind of strange for swooning over the newest balsamic vinegars or oils, but we have a great time together. I bet she would love this — pesto is her favorite!
Hi Maris, I LOVE that you are close to your friends and share dinners!!! Foodie friends make very good friends indeed!!!!
Speaking of good, this recipe looks better than good, it looks great! Thanks for sharing. Hope your Wednesday has gone well.
mmm. Pesto is awesome, and I like the idea of adding spinach.
It’s so nice to be able to share food like that. We do that with family nearby and it makes it extra special. I’m a huge fan of “grain” salads and yours looks fantastic. I love the combination of flavors. I’m “pinning” this one for sure. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe. I, also, want to thank you for stopping by my blog today and leaving such a sweet comment. I appreciate it very much. Have a wonderful evening!
i’ve never cooked/made barley before but this looks so tasty, may have to tab this one for a future meal too. seriously you just make my future meals better, haha.
what a fabulous salad! i, too, am a fan of adding spinach to pesto. yum
Thninkig like that shows an expert’s touch
Barley is something I don’t cook enough with, but this recipe sounds yummy
I love pesto and I think I can eat anything if there’s enough pesto on it! Great post, Maris!
I’ve been eating edamame for lunch and dinner for two or three days now – but I think this might trump just about anything I’ve made! I can’t resist pesto in any way, shape or form!
Pesto, barley, edamame…you have just combined some of my favorite healthy ingredients in this salad! Yummy!
This looks awesome! And I love your food sharing habits with friends
We just had new neighbors move in across the street and we are both tentatively starting to do the same. It’s awesome!
Hmm I wish I’m your neighbor… =) I love Americans using Edamame for versatile dish. Growing up, Edamame was just Edamame… you know peas in the pod salted as appetizer. They are in school bento, snack for dad’s beer… that’s about it. I really like seeing Edamame in many kinds of dishes here. And this is fantastic salad too!
Pesto sauce has always been such a fav of mine and usually eat with pasta or orzo. This would be a great dish to try too.
oh my, this looks fabulous; i love pesto for sooooo many reasons, not the least of which are dishes like this one ~ and i have to say that i’m quite jealous that you live in an area where you get to share food – LOVE THAT!
I know what you mean about the friends near by, and I give them sweets/desserts usually…else I’d be eating waaay too much sugar and butter.
The salad sounds delicious.
Happy Thursday!
What a healthy and original salad! I bet it tastes wonderful.
I wish I had friends who lived near by. I’d love to share some of my goodies with them…
Cheers,
Rosa
We eat edamame a lot…and wish we ate barley more often! This is a super combo in a salad, Maris.
Yum. Edamame is one of my favorite snacks, when I remember to buy it!
I’ve never thought to make a barley salad. I’ve really been wanting to make grain salads more. I have some millet that’s been kicking around the pantry that I really need to cook with.
Another great salad, Maris!
Beautiful salad. All things I enjoy!
aww thats great having friends so close by! ive never had barley in savoury form before, always as a type of dessert so this is really interesting! love the green too!
Holy cow, how did I miss this post this week? I love edamame and this is a great use for it! Love the pesto barley combo. Brilliant!
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