Radicchio Salad With Crunchy Shiitake Mushrooms and Barley

By Sue Li

Radicchio Salad With Crunchy Shiitake Mushrooms and Barley
Kate Mathis for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Eugene Jho.
Total Time
1 hour
Rating
4(237)
Notes
Read community notes

A colorful grain salad is the perfect light meal. Here, barley adds heft and texture to a bitter leaf salad that’s balanced with a sweet-tart dressing. The sleeper hit of this recipe are the crispy shiitake mushrooms, which impart deep flavor in two ways: They are pan-seared, and the caramelization left in the pan adds extra umami to the dressing. For gluten-free diets, you could substitute buckwheat groats or brown rice in place of the pearled barley.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • ¾cup pearled barley, rinsed
  • 1medium yellow onion, halved
  • 4garlic cloves, lightly crushed
  • Kosher salt and black pepper
  • ¼cup vegetable oil
  • ¼pound fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and caps thinly sliced
  • 1shallot, thinly sliced
  • 4tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1tablespoon maple syrup
  • 1large (12-ounce) head radicchio, core discarded and leaves torn into bite-size pieces
  • ¼cup roughly chopped fresh parsley leaves
  • ¼cup roughly chopped small fresh dill sprigs
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

328 calories; 15 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 45 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 421 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Combine barley, onion, garlic and 1 tablespoon kosher salt in a large pot. Add enough water to cover the barley by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high, then lower heat to medium-low and simmer until the grains are plump and tender, about 40 minutes. Drain the mixture, and discard the onion and garlic.

  2. Step 2

    After barley has cooked about 30 minutes, prepare the mushrooms: Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown and the ends are starting to curl and crisp, 9 to 10 minutes. Using a pair of tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer the mushrooms to a paper towel-lined plate and season with salt and pepper.

  3. Step 3

    Return the skillet with the oil back to medium heat. Add the shallot and cook, stirring, until golden, 1 to 2 minutes; turn off the heat. While the oil is still hot, stir in balsamic vinegar and maple syrup. Season with salt and pepper.

  4. Step 4

    On a platter, layer the radicchio with cooked barley and drizzle with balsamic vinegar dressing. Top with reserved mushrooms, parsley and dill before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Ratings

4 out of 5
237 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

Es

Delicious salad. I suggest using Bob's Red Mill hull-less barley; it takes a little longer to cook but it has a fuller flavor. I loved this salad although I had to use regular mushrooms instead of shiitake and I feel there was too much radicchio for the mix. The layering was a wonderful idea, the colors were vibrant, the dressing and herbs on top added so much flavor. I served it as a side to roast chicken but this could also be a lunch by itself.

J&J

I made this for dinner - it really only served two - and it was fantastic! Farro works well if you don’t have barley. Next time, I’d use olive oil instead of vegetable oil. I realized too late that the cooking oil is also used in the salad dressing and who uses vegetable oil in salad dressing?

Maren Gesine

I love how the recipe takes care to soften the flavours that otherwise might be to brash if added raw: garlic, onion and shallot. Even heating the vinaigrette for a moment is a lovely touch. I used bulgur - worked nicely. A fried egg would probably be a good addition. Looks beautiful too.

Helen

I used bulgur because it’s what I had cooked already. We also had a lot more mushrooms because it was our dinner. We like it very much after adding Meyer lemon juice at the end.

WAAAY Longer Than An Hour To Make

Guests LOVED this however the hour-long prep time was the LOOOOOOONGGGGEST hour ever.

Alex

So so good. I used farro cooked in stock & skipped the onion and garlic since it’s discarded. Used escarole instead of radicchio. Added pan seared chicken breast on top for a complete meal. So warm and cozy on a cold night.

Vln2

Sorry - this one not a winner for us. The taste of the shiitake was lost. Generally just, blah.

Carol Wise

Excellent salad! I used the onion(chopped), after cooking, in the barley. It added a nice addition to the sweetness. Used dried dill (didn't have fresh) and cilantro. Next time, more shallot and dressing. A keeper. Easy.

louise

I agree with J&J. This recipe feeds two. After cooking the shiitake, they will be about half their original size. Four oz of cooked shiitake looks like 2 oz and that is difficult to split between four people. Otherwise I love this recipe and appreciate the balance of flavor and texture.

Jjj

The oil all got soaked up by the mushrooms. I had to use more to make the dressing. Next time I’ll only use 1/2 the oil for the mushrooms and reserve the other half for the dressing. Also agree about the radicchio.... too much But otherwise delicious!

Alex

You may want to consider layering the salad on individual plates if people have differing thresholds for radicchio. It tasted fine to me but others felt it was too bitter.

Evan

We used farro instead of barley. I also loved the layering of the grain and radicchio. The salad was easy to make and flavors came together spectacularly. This is probably not a whole meal, and would recommended something to accommodate this even if for lunch.

Carolyn

I used a grains blend mix and cooked in half vegetable broth/half water. Even when reducing the salt to 1/2 T it was plenty salty. The onion sort of fell apart so rather than discarding, I just tossed it in with the whole salad. Served warm so the radicchio softened a bit.

Allison

I added some endive to the salad to break up the radicchio. Overall, it was very good.

Kate

We add a hit of fresh lemon juice at the end and a big bunch of mint to brighten. Fantastic with a seared salmon for something heartier but excellent flavors.

Lucy

Add toasted walnuts to the top!

Linda

Absolutely delicious. We made this with Farro as we could not get barley. During quarantine, we need to adjust! We have made this many times now and have only use farro. We have also used regular mushrooms, baby bella, when we couldn't get shitake and it is still delicious.

Ulanda

I used buckwheat instead of barley, and added asparagus and walnuts too. I recommend using less salt when boiling the grain, otherwise a very nice dish.

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