Beef and Barley Salad

Ingredients

• 1 cup barley
• 3 cups Beef broth
• 4 cloves Garlic with skin
• 2 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons Fresh lemon juice
• 6-8 ounces Sirloin Or Flank Steak
• 1 cup Red onion chopped
• 1/4 cup Fresh Cilantro minced

Instructions

1. Heat 2.5 cups of stock.
2. Add barley, garlic and salt to taste (depends on the salt in the broth) it should be slightly salty.
3. Stir and bring to boil, cover and simmer for 20-30 min. until tender but firm.
4. Spread on tray or cookie sheet to speed cooling.
5. Remove garlic gloves, remove form skin, smash with flat side of knife to puree.
6. Dressing:
7. Place 1/2 cup of broth, garlic, oil, juice, in a jar with a tight fitting lid, shake until well blended.
8. In a bowl, combine barley, beef, onion and cilantro with dressing. This tastes best if done the day ahead and refrigerated.
9. Options to add:
10. Pepper roasted and cut into strips or not if you want the crunch.
11. Jalapeno Chile, minced for some heat.
12. Grape, cherry tomatoes or sun dried tomatoes cut in to strips, added just before serving or use oil from some sun dried tomatoes for the olive oil.
13. Crumbled feta cheese.
14. Smoked mozzarella, diced the to the size of the barley or into little strips.
15. If you want to have a little more smoky flavor, add a few shakes of liquid smoke to the dressing or to the cooking liquid for the barley.
16. I had some roasted vegetables that I cut into bite sized and add that worked very well. Be sure to add any juice from the left over roasted veggies.