Barley Tabbouleh Salad

This recipe is wonderful... It goes very well with my spiced hummus recipe that I have posted earlier in this blog. Both hummus and tabbouleh are middle eastern dishes. You can eat tabbouleh with flat bread, pita chips, romaine hearts, or by itself. This recipe has a nice balance of all the flavours and tastes amazing. I hope some of you will be able to enjoy this.

* 1 1/4 cups pearl barley
* 3 cups salted water
* 1/3 cup olive oil
* 3 tbsp. lemon juice
* Zest of 1/2 lemon
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 green onion, chopped
* Salt and pepper to taste
* 1 roma tomato, seeded and diced
* 1 cup seedless cucumber, diced
* 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, minced (please don't use regular parsley, flat-leaf is traditional in middle eastern cooking)
* 1/4 cup cilantro, minced

In a saucepan, bring salted water to a boil. Add the barley and reduce heat to a simmer covered for 25 minutes. Drain.

Rinse barley with cold water in a strainer until all the grains are cooled.

Transfer to bowl and toss with olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, minced garlic, green onions, salt and pepper.

Before serving add tomatoes, cucumber, parsley, and cilantro.

Enjoy!