Barley, corn, and tomato salad

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81115barleycornPearl barley cooks quickly, making it a convenient grain for fast weeknight dinners. You’ll find the other main ingredients in this main course salad—sweet corn, tomatoes, peppers, and zucchini —at area farmers markets now.

Ingredients

1 cup pearled barley
2 cups water
3 ears corn
2 cups sugar snaps, cut into bite-size pieces (optional)
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 medium summer squash, thinly sliced
3 green onions, sliced
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
1 green bell pepper, seeds removed, flesh diced
1 red bell pepper, seeds removed, flesh diced
1 jalapeno, seeds removed, chopped
3 tablespoons Olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon Smoked paprika
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Instructions

In a medium saucepan, combine barley and water and place over high heat. When water comes to a simmer, reduce heat to low, cover and cook until water is absorbed and barley is tender, about 25 to 30 minutes. Rinse with cool water and drain.

Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to boil. Place a large bowl of ice water near the stove. Add the sugar snaps to the boiling water, cook 2 minutes, then scoop out with a slotted spoon and add immediately to the ice water. After a few minutes, drain the sugar snaps well. Transfer to a large bowl.

Cut kernels from corn and add to bowl with sugar snaps. Add tomatoes, zucchini, green onions, celery, green pepper, red pepper, and jalapeno. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, salt, pepper, and paprika. While whisking, slowly drizzle in vinegar, then whisk well to incorporate.

Add cooked and cooled barley to salad. Stir to combine. Add dressing and basil and toss to combine. Adjust seasoning to taste.

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