Barley and Spinach Salad (with feta, white beans, and cranberries)

I love me a warm grain salad. Especially in the depths of winter, when you're getting over Thai food-induced indigestion, and your apartment is chilly, and you just want something that will warm you up without making you feel terrible about your diet.


(Sorry for the quality--took it on my ipod instead of my camera, and also apparently blogger rotated the picture when it uploaded. Oh well.)

I was inspired by a similar recipe I saw for a quinoa salad with sauteed kale. But I didn't have enough quinoa on hand, and I didn't feel like chopping or sauteeing, so I improvised a little. I ended up making it with barley instead (but any other whole grain like bulgur wheat or brown rice would also be great), and I just defrosted a 10-oz package of frozen spinach. I also added a can of white beans to add to the healthy heartiness. It turned out great!

Here are the amounts I used, for reference:

1 cup dried barley
1 10-oz package frozen spinach
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1 can white/great Northern/cannellini beans, rinsed (chickpeas would also be good)
pinch red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon olive oil
2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4-1/2 cup crumbled feta
salt to taste

Cook the barley according to package directions. Add the cranberries in with the barley for the last few minutes of cooking so they'll soften up. Defrost the spinach in the microwave and stir it in, along with all the other ingredients. Salt to taste.

I just love all the ingredients in this salad, and I love the way they play together so nicely. I've made things similar to this before, but I've never thought to add cranberries. Getting a cranberry in with the other ingredients just adds a really nice, sweet zip to the bite! Love it.

I'm also thinking about possible variations: use a different grain (quinoa, barley, bulgur wheat, brown rice, farro, etc), a different green (some freshly-sauteed kale might have a nice flavor, although that's one extra pan to get dirty...), use tomatoes in the summer instead of the cranberries (and toss in a handful of basil to go with them, yum), parmesan instead of feta, chickpeas instead of white beans...this is a really great base recipe, and I look forward to thinking up riffs on it.

Would I make this again? Oh, definitely! I'm actually already considering just keeping a dish of this (or some variation of this) always made in the fridge so I can have a healthy lunch whenever I want. This is my favorite recipe that I've documented on here so far!