Barley Salad with Prosciutto
This barley salad with prosciutto and pea pesto is always a crowd-pleaser – It's ready in a blink and makes such an impressive dish to share!
Let me tell you, this barley salad with prosciutto and pea pesto is a refreshing twist on a classic salad!
Nutty barley, creamy pea pesto, and savory prosciutto come together for a bright and satisfying meal.
Super easy and quick to make in less than 30 minutes, this salad calls for just a bunch of simple ingredients:
- cooked pearl barley
- homemade pea pesto
- rocket leaves
- Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
- Italian prosciutto or Parma ham
How to make pea pesto
I make this pea pesto on a regular basis, it's just so tasty and easy to make!
The recipe calls for very simple ingredients: peas, garlic, lemon zest, pine nuts and good extra-virgin olive oil.
It's refreshing, with a sweet & tangy aroma, and it really takes only 5 minutes to put together.
Basically, you trow everything in a food processor and mix until creamy. Season with salt and pepper to taste and you're done.
The pea pesto ingredients are enough to make a big pot of pea pesto.
You can add as much as you like to the barley salad and store the remaining pesto in the fridge for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Pea pesto is a fantastic addition to this salad, but it also works amazingly well with pasta, and you can also serve it a side with grilled fish or meat.
I make it every week, and I love it so much I even included it my latest cookbook! Give it a try, I'm sure you'll absolutely love it.
How to make barley salad
Back to this awesome Barley with Pea Pesto Salad, did I say it's super easy to make?
All you have to do is mix the barley with the pea pesto, add in some rocket leaves, cheese shavings and few slices of prosciutto, and you're done!
For even more flavor, you can also add in some roasted nuts, such as hazelnuts and almonds.
You can also add some extra toppings if you like. I LOVE adding a couple of soft-boiled eggs to make this salad even more special.
Perfect for a light protein-packed lunch, picnic or easy fuss-free dinner, once you try this refreshing Italian salad you'll want to make it over and over again!
Did you try this recipe?
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Recipe
Barley Salad with Prosciutto
Ingredients
- 250 g pearl barley, rinsed
- 80 g Grana Padano or Parmigiana Reggiano cheese, shaved
- 5-6 slices Prosciutto
- 100 g rocket leaves
For the Pea Pesto:
- 400 g boiled peas
- zest of 1 lemon, preferably organic
- 2 garlic cloves
- 70 g pine nuts
- 2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- sea salt & freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Cook the barley for about 15-20 mins in a pot of lightly salted water until tender, but still al dente.
- Transfer into a colander and cool under fresh running water, then drain well.
- In the meantime, prepare the pea pesto. In a food processor add cooked peas, lemon zest, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil and a generous pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Blend until smooth for about 1 minute, scraping down the edges with a spatula half-way through.
- In a large salad bowl mix together cooked pearl barley with ⅔ of the pesto (store the remaining pesto for another day).
- Add in rocket leaves and cheese shavings and give it a nice mix.
- With the help of your hands roll each slice of prosciutto into the shape of a rose, and place on top of the salad.
- Add some optional freshly cracked black pepper and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This post was originally posted in August 2017 and updated with more info.
Love all these flavors!
This looks fantastic!!
Such a pretty salad, that pea pesto sounds amazing!
I'm always game for recipes like this especially during the summer! It's packed with so many good ingredients and I can't wait to make it for the husband! I'm sure he'll love it!
Those little prosciutto flowers are so cute! I've always wanted to make my own pesto but the pine nuts are so expensive, I end up buying pre-made pesto at Whole Foods!
This looks good! I am going to try this sometime.
I really need to try this Barley with Pea Pesto Salad recipe. Your pictures and the way you decorated the salad is perfect.
This salad look beautiful. I love the rosette garnishes on it!! So pretty!!!!
Pea pesto is something I've not had before. Love the sound of the ham, cheese and pea combo!
That prosciutto I bet melts in your mouth perfect salad. Your pics are mouthwatering too. Now craving a good salada!
This is so beautiful!I love the video. This would be a great dish for a party.
What a delicious pesto! And that salad looks ah-mazingly delicious!
I've truly never thought of using barley in a salad before! I love the nutritional benefits that barley offers but I mainly use it in soups. I have to say this salad looks fantastic and I'd love to give it a try.
This sounds absolutely divine! I LOVE Grana Padano and prosciutto. Can't wait to try this recipe soon : ) I'll make sure to to tag you on Instagram. Thanks for sharing Andrea!
xoxo,
Liv
I've never had pea pesto but I am sure I will love it! Going to give this a try over the summer as I love Grana Padano and prosciutto.
That sounds delicious! I've made rice pesto salad but haven't tried with barley before, I do have a packet in the cupboard that needs using up however so I will have to give it a try!