Summer Salad: Barley Salad with Roasted Tomato and Thyme
Maison Mirabeau Wines · Provencal Recipes · Salad · TasteI love grain salads, a welcome change from the heavily wheat-based French diet, and for their ability to bring a different texture and flavour without major investment in terms of time or money. I have made a simple but fundamental change in my own cooking when preparing grain—and rice-based dishes: I have increased the ratio of vegetables and herbs versus carbs.
… read more from the Mirabeau Wine Kitchen about healthy eating and this versatile barley salad.

Summer Salad: Barley Salad with Roasted Tomato and Thyme
Tender beads of barley dancing among roasted tomatoes, garlic, onions and thyme then topped with salty black olives,
Ingredients
- 6 medium (or 25 cherry) tomatoes roughly chopped
- 1 sweet onion finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic peeled
- 1 bunch fresh thyme
- 150 gr barley
- black olives to garnish
Instructions
- Pre-set your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
- Get your barley cooking in plenty of salted water- it needs a good 30-40 minutes cooking time (refer to instructions on your pack) to give it a nice chewy, but not too soft texture.
- While the barley is cooking, put a generous glug of Olive Oil in a roasting tin and add the chopped sweet onion and the whole garlic clove.
- Pick thyme leaves off 2 or three sprigs and add to the oil- the more herbs the better really.
- Leave it to cook in the oven for a few minutes to let the thyme and onion flavours infuse the oil, then add the tomato chunks.
- Roast for about 15-20 minutes, you don’t want it to turn to mush, yet you want that concentration of lovely flavours and juice.
- Turn off the oven and leave it there with an open door.
- Once your barley’s cooked, rinse with hot water to stop it from sticking and add some olive oil.
- Take the tomatoes out of the oven and gradually add the barely to your roasting tin, making sure there’s enough oil and tomato juice to envelop the grains nicely.
- Season with pepper and salt to taste. I also add some chopped black olives for some extra salty texture.
- Present it in a beautiful bowl and serve it warm as part of a lunch or Mediterranean dinner, it’s also a perfect picnic dish and accompanies roasted meats beautifully.
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