Barley Lentil Salad -- an easy summer side dish or meal salad from Leslie Budewitz

LESLIE BUDEWITZ:  A recent kitchen failure – hey, they happen to all of us – left me cleaning out a pantry shelf, where I discovered two canisters of lentils, in different sizes, and one of barley. We love lentils! We love barley! Soup weather’s a ways off, so what kind of salad could I make? A quick search online and I had my starter recipe, full of lemony flavor and the tang of feta, though as always, I changed it quite a bit.

The dressing is thick and flavorful – and made way too much for this salad. It’s not easily cut, so I suggest you use some for the salad, hold some back in case your leftovers are a little dry and need dowsing, and use the rest for a green salad or a marinade. The original called for way more lemon juice; so glad I’ve learned to start small and add more if necessary!

Thyme and oregano grow in our garden. If you’ve got other fresh herbs you like, mix it up! 

We loved the salad warm, but we also liked it cold. We were able to get through it quickly in our household of two; it makes enough for a picnic or potluck. 

This made a beautiful side dish with chicken and steak, and would go nicely with salmon, too. Eat it by itself or topped with a hard-boiled egg for a tasty lunch. 

PS: I finally figured out how to embed a PDF of the recipe for easy printing. 

Scroll down to the 💕 for the link. 

Barley Lentil Salad 

1 cup pearl barley

1 cup green lentils

8-12 ounce bag frozen, cut green beans or fresh beans, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup olive oil

1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered if large

1/4 medium red onion, diced 

3/4 cup crumbled feta 

2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano

Fill a 3-4 quart pot with 5-6 cups of water; salt and bring to a boil. Add 1 cup barley and 1 cup lentils; lower heat and stir occasionally, and cook until al dente, or slightly firm to the tooth, about 20 minutes.

When barley and lentils are not quite done and you still have some liquid in the pan, about the last 2-3 minutes of cooking, add the green beans. Stir and cook until done. Drain if necessary, in a colander, and pour into a large bowl. (I used a ceramic dish with a lid, anticipating storage.)

Meanwhile, in a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, thyme, salt and pepper. Tighten lid and shake to combine. Add the olive oil and shake to emulsify. 

Pour about half the dressing over the warm barley, lentils, and beans, and stir to combine. Add the tomatoes, red onion, feta, and oregano. Stir gently and taste; adjust seasonings if necessary. 

Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold. Store leftovers covered, in fridge; stir before serving and add some of the reserved dressing if needed. 

Serves 8.

💕 Click here for a free printable PDF! 

At Seattle Spice Shop, owner Pepper Reece has whipped up the perfect blend of food, friends, and flavor. But the sweet smell of success can be hazardous . . .  

Spring is in full bloom in Pike Place Market, where Pepper is celebrating lavender’s culinary uses and planning a festival she hopes will become an annual event. When her friend Lavender Liz offers to share tips for promoting the much-loved—and occasionally maligned—herb, Pepper makes a trek to the charming town of Salmon Falls. But someone has badly damaged Liz’s greenhouse, throwing a wrench in the feisty grower’s plans for expansion. Suspicions quickly focus on an employee who’s taken to the hills. 

Then Liz is found dead among her precious plants, stabbed by a pruning knife. In Salmon Falls, there’s one in every pocket. 

Pepper digs in, untangling the tensions between Liz and a local restaurateur with eyes on a picturesque but neglected farm, a jealous ex-boyfriend determined to profit from Liz’s success, and a local growers’ cooperative. She’s also hot on the scent of a trail of her own, sniffing out the history of her sweet dog, Arf. 

As Pepper’s questions threaten to unearth secrets others desperately want to keep buried, danger creeps closer to her and those she loves. Can Pepper root out the killer, before someone nips her in the bud?

Available at Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Books-A-Million * Bookshop.org * and your local booksellers!

ALL GOD'S SPARROWS AND OTHER STORIES: A STAGECOACH MARY FIELDS COLLECTION, now available in in paperback and ebook 

Take a step back in time with All God's Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection of historical short mysteries, featuring the Agatha-Award winning "All God's Sparrows" and other stories imagining the life of real-life historical figure Mary Fields, born into slavery in 1832, during the last thirty years of her life, in Montana. Out September 17, 2024 from Beyond the Page Publishing.  

“Finely researched and richly detailed, All God’s Sparrows and Other Stories is a wonderful collection. I loved learning about this fascinating woman . . . and what a character she is! Kudos to Leslie Budewitz for bringing her to life so vividly.” —Kathleen Grissom, New York Times bestselling author of Crow Mary

Available at Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Books-A-Million * Bookshop.org * and your local booksellers!

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Spice Shop Mysteries set in Seattle's Pike Place Market, and the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries, set in NW Montana. As Alicia Beckman, she writes moody, standalone suspense, most recently Blind Faith. She is the winner of Agatha Awards in three categories: Best Nonfiction (2011), Best First Novel (2013), and Best Short Story (2018). Her latest books are To Err is Cumin, the 8th Spice Shop Mystery and All God's Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection, in September 2024. Watch for Lavender Lies Bleeding, the 9th Spice Shop Mystery, on July 15, 2025.

A past president of Sisters in Crime and former national board member of Mystery Writers of America, Leslie lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their cat, an avid bird-watcher.

Swing by Leslie's website and join the mailing list for her seasonal newsletter. And join her on Facebook where she shares book news and giveaways from her writer friends, and talks about food, mysteries, and the things that inspire her.