Beet and Barley Salad With Date-Citrus Vinaigrette
- Total Time
- 1½ hours
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:8 to 10 servings
- 2medium beets, scrubbed
- ½cup pearl barley
- Coarse kosher salt
- 1lemon
- 1garlic clove, minced
- 2teaspoons date honey (also labeled date syrup)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 5tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4handfuls of mixed slightly bitter lettuce, like chicory, arugula, romaine, Swiss chard or beet leaves, roughly torn
- 1cup fresh mixed herbs, like mint, thyme, oregano, parsley, hyssop, lovage and cilantro
- 2celery stalks, cut down the center and diced in ½-inch pieces
- 1 to 2Persian cucumbers, scrubbed and cut into 1-inch dice
- 2large shallots or ½ red onion, diced in ½-inch pieces (see Tip)
- 5dried figs or 4 fresh figs, quartered
- 1cup white or red grapes, or a combination, halved
- 1cup mixed pitted olives, halved
- ½cup pomegranate seeds
- ½cup crumbled feta
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)
190 calories; 10 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 23 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 10 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 334 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.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Wrap the beets individually in foil. Bake until tender when pierced with a fork, 1 to 1½ hours. When cool enough to handle, peel the beets and cut into bite-size pieces.
- Step 2
While the beets are roasting, make the barley: Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Add the barley and ½ teaspoon salt, and simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes, or until al dente.
- Step 3
While the barley is cooking, make the salad dressing: Squeeze the juice from the lemon (about 2 tablespoons) into a small bowl. Add the garlic and date honey, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the olive oil and set aside.
- Step 4
When the barley is cooked, drain, rinse and drain again. Taste, adding more salt, if necessary, and let cool completely.
- Step 5
When ready to serve, use your hands to gently mix the lettuce and herbs in a large salad bowl and scatter on the barley, beets, celery, cucumbers, shallots, figs and grapes. Top with the olives, pomegranate seeds and feta, and sprinkle on the dressing. Mix at the table and serve immediately.
Tip
- If you’d like to mellow out the bite of raw shallot, you can soak it in cold water for about 10 minutes, then drain.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Prakash Nadkarni
A simple, delicious recipe. The instructions very sensibly overlap steps 1- 3. I've come to prefer the Instant Pot for cooking beets (scrubbed and washed, halved or quartered, with 1 cup water, 25 mins + natural release. (I typically make 3-4 pounds of beets in the pot.) If you make Tennessee-style pickled beets (sliced or diced, in sweetened vinegar), the pickling liquid makes a great vinaigrette combined with EVOO, some lemon/lime juice, salt, pepper & minced garlic.
Gian Marco
Excellent. The picture is a bit „idealized“. Beets will turn the salad pink, but they taste great. If you want to impress your guests — first optic impression — add the beets at the very last.
High Desert Rat
Sounds delicious. With hope for a sweet year, no sour on the table - no citrus, no vinegar - on the Erev Rosh Hashanah table for me. Only sweet flavors.
Naomi
I wanted a substantial salad and since pomegranates are in season, I gave this a shot. It was a hit! I didn't have date syrup, so I subbed pomegranate molasses, which worked well. I did chop up a few dates. Thanks, Joan Nathan.
Amirissa
This was definitely a great salad, however, in the future, I will double the dressing. I'm usually someone who goes light, but it needed to be more pronounced to have more of a universal flavor in each bite as there is so much going on.
Julie Steinberg
Looks delicious. Question: does it work without the feta or any dairy?
Emily H
This makes a really delicious lunch. Added two more teaspoons of the date honey which was perfect for me. I did not have figs, so I used dates instead, but will definitely plan to try it with figs when in season. Would make a wonderful starter salad for a dinner party- it’s delicious and beautiful!
Naomi
I wanted a substantial salad and since pomegranates are in season, I gave this a shot. It was a hit! I didn't have date syrup, so I subbed pomegranate molasses, which worked well. I did chop up a few dates. Thanks, Joan Nathan.
Rachel
This is a great everything-but-the-kitchen-sink recipe for this time of year (Jewish New Year). I prefer a dressing with more acid, so I only used 3 T of oil rather than 5. It was plenty to coat the ingredients and brightened the flavor of the salad. No feta as my husband is not a fan. Goes well with any kind of a fish entre.
S Stegall
Excellent salad! The choice of figs is crucial; make sure they are sweet and ripe.
Don
I used pomegranate molasses instead of date syrup and skipped the pomegranate seeds. When I was mixing ingredients I was doubtful I would like it; But... It Was quite good considering there is no vinegar in it. Next time I'll try it with the Date Syrup.
Ruth
This was absolutely delicious - a perfect first course and one of the big hits of my Rosh Hashanah table!
FrenchTurk
Everyone at our Rosh Hashanah dinner enjoyed this salad, and it looks very pretty. That said, I was underwhelmed by it and will not make again. Tons of work (took most of a day to make), ingredients did not marry well (celery, grapes, olives, beets, all in the same mouthful?), and general flavor profile was too bland for me. I love salads with grains and lots of “stuff” but sadly this one wasn’t worth the effort.
Don
I made it for lunch. Took me 20 minutes. But I did use canned beats... which I prefer. Odd I know.
Max Van Gilder
This is almost oriental. Not in the taste but that everything is done ahead of time. The prep is most of the work. It's delicious, crunchy and full-flavored. We used maple syrup and that worked fine. This is great as a non-holiday lunch or light dinner.
Lisa
Fabulous…Do add the olives.
BMS
This was sooo good. It is a hefty list of ingredients but - as others will do I'm sure - I modified slightly to our tastes and took some shortcuts to simplify prep time: Bought precooked vacuum-packed beets, no olives or celery, no feta to make it non-dairy. Added more garlic and date syrup as the dressing tasted too acidic to me. The barley, which I almost initially skipped, was a surprise hit. Fresh figs wowed. Love Joan Nathan's thoughtful interpretation of Rosh Hashanah foods.
J
Fantastic salad, everyone loved it. Used raw beets instead of cooked (less sweet/less mushy), skipped the grapes also to avoid too much sweet (and minimize steps, this salad is a lot of prep!) but increased the figs, increased the date syrup and lemon for a more flavorful dressing, minimized the herbs as I was afraid the flavors would be too strong, skipped the feta for a non-dairy option. Used radicchio and arugula as the greens, mint/thyme/oregano for herbs. Would increase the mint next time.
Jar Salad Riff
I eat jar salads for lunch at work and this made such pretty layers! I know it’s intended for a holiday meal, but I was the envy of the lunch buddies - dressing on the bottom, then the sturdier stuff, greens on the top and feta at the top.
Dana
What would be a good gluten-free substitute for the barley?
Prakash Nadkarni
RE: Gluten-free barley substitute: Steel-cut oats should do it. Their nutty flavor works well in salads: I find oats more flavorful and more versatile than barley. They cook much faster, though - 7 minutes. See Mark Bittman's recipe for Waldorf Salad with Steel-cut Oats at myrecipes.com/recipe/waldorf-salad-steel-cut-oats .
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