Warm barley, chicken, and stone fruit mélange

3
Points®
Total Time
39 min
Prep
19 min
Cook
20 min
Serves
6
Difficulty
Easy
This wonderful salad takes full advantage of summer’s abundance of juicy peaches, nectarines, and plums. Look for fragrant fruit that gives slightly to pressure but with no bruises or soft spots. Freestone fruit is what we find most in supermarkets starting from early to mid-June. They are easy to prepare because the pit releases easily from the fruit. For best flavor, use peaches, nectarines, and plums at room temperature and stir the barley into the salad mixture while still warm. It's even better if the chicken is freshly cooked and not chilled. If you can't serve this salad while still warm, don’t let it sit at room temperature for more than an hour or so. Cover and chill, then let it come to room temperature 30 minutes before serving.

Ingredients

Uncooked pearl barley

1 cup(s), quick-cooking

Peppermint leaves

¼ cup(s), fresh, chopped

Vinegar

1½ Tbsp, raspberry flavor

Walnut oil

1 Tbsp, or canola oil

Table salt

¾ tsp

Black pepper

¼ tsp, fresly ground

Cooked skinless boneless chicken breast

12 oz, cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces

Peach

2 medium, fresh, ripe, pitted and chopped

Nectarine

2 item(s), medium, fresh, ripe, pitted and chopped

Plum

2 item(s), medium, fresh, ripe, pitted and chopped

Celery

2 rib(s), medium, chopped

Scallions

2 medium, chopped

Instructions

  1. Cook barley according to package directions; drain and set aside.
  2. Meanwhile, combine the mint, vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
  3. Combine the chicken, peaches, nectarines, plums, celery, and scallions in a large bowl. Add the mint mixture and barley to the chicken mixture; mix well. Serve at once. Yields 1 1/3 cups per serving.