Stoke up on grains with barley and pea salad

The earthy flavors and textures of grains make them star ingredients in salads, food writer and recipe developer John Ash says. Look no further than Ash’s barley and black-eyed pea salad that’s among the offerings in the June-July issue of “Fine Cooking” magazine.

Be sure to buy pearled barley, which has been hulled and polished. Barley that isn’t pearled never really softens when cooked.

For the vinaigrette:

1/4 cup fresh lime or lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon grated lime or lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons finely minced cilantro

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 teaspoon honey

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the salad:

1/2 cup pearled barley

1 1/2 cups rich vegetable stock

1 cup frozen or canned black-eyed peas

1 large yellow bell pepper, roasted, peeled and diced

1 cup seeded and diced ripe tomato

3/4 to 1 cup diagonally sliced scallions (white and green parts)

1 cup cooked fresh (or thawed, frozen) corn kernels

Green- and red-leaf lettuce leaves (optional)

To make the vinaigrette: In a small bowl, whisk together the lime (or lemon) juice, zest, garlic, cumin, cilantro, oil and honey; add salt and pepper to taste.

To make the salad: In a dry saucepan, lightly toast the barley over moderate heat until fragrant, about 5 minutes, stirring to prevent burning. Add the stock, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer gently until the liquid is absorbed and the barley is tender, about 40 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, partially uncovered, until cooled to room temperature before stirring.

Meanwhile, cook the peas in lightly salted boiling water until just tender but not mushy, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool, and set aside. (If using canned peas, don’t cook them, just rinse them well.)

In a large (preferably glass) bowl, layer the barley, peas, roasted pepper, tomato, scallions and corn. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad and toss before serving. If you like, arrange the greens (if using) on serving plates and top with the salad.