Barley & Sweet Potato Salad with Smashed Crispy Chickpeas
Adapted from Love Real Food by Kathryne Taylor
I love grain salads and you could easily sub another grain for the barley in here if you wanted. Like usual this recipe fed two hungry people for dinner, but I could imagine it making three smaller portions for lunch. You could also add more greens to it, which would help fill it out for a larger crowd. Either way, I think you’ll like it!
Roast the Sweet Potato & Chickpeas
2 small or 1 large sweet potato
1 can of chickpeas
Olive oil
Salt & pepper
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/8 tsp or just a dash cayenne pepper
Preheat the oven to 450F.
Peel and cut the sweet potato into bite-sized chunks. Toss them with olive oil (maybe 1/2 tbsp), salt and pepper to taste. Spread onto a foil-lined baking sheet, trying not to let them bunch up too much.
Rinse the chickpeas well and give them a minute to dry. Toss them with olive oil (maybe 1/2 tbsp), the smoked paprika, cayenne, and some salt.
Spread the chickpeas onto a foil-lined baking sheet, and use a potato masher or wooded spoon to roughly smash them. You don’t need to smash them too much and you don’t need to worry about smashing every one. Smashing helps them crisp up more and also makes them less annoying to eat with a fork.
Put both baking sheets into the oven. The sweet potatoes will take 25-30 minutes depending on the size of chunks, and the chickpeas will take 20 minutes. The chickpeas need the additional time outside the oven to continue crisping, so don’t worry about the sweet potato taking longer.
Make the Barley
1 cup barley (I use pearled, and if you have a different type your cooking directions may vary)
Olive oil
Salt
I cook my barley in an instant pot, so I will give you the directions I use. If you don’t have an instant pot, I recommend just following the directions on your barley. Add two cups of water to the instant pot. Rinse the barley and add it. Drizzle a little bit of olive oil, and add a pinch of salt. Stir everything. Steam at high pressure for 20 minutes and quick release. Drain the barley and put in a large bowl.
Assemble the Salad
1/2 cup pepitas
3 tbsp olive oil
1 large lemon or 3 tbsp lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic
4-5 green onions
Half a bunch of parsley
2-4 oz of goat cheese (depending on your love of it)
Toast the pepitas over medium heat until they start popping. Set aside once they do.
Ideally while the barley is still warm, add the olive oil and lemon juice. Press or chop the garlic and add it as well, giving everything a good stir. The warm barley will just barely cook the garlic, softening the taste of any raw garlic.
Chop the green onions up to the pale green parts. Mostly pluck the leaves from the parsley (some stem won’t hurt) and chop them.
Toss the sweet potatoes, chickpeas, green onions, parsley and pepitas with the barley and stir everything to mix.
Crumble the goat cheese and stir everything once more. If things are still warm, it may melt a little (like it did for me) but it will be delicious regardless.
Divide into bowls and enjoy!
Leave a comment and let me know how your salad was!