BARLEY, KALE AND BEET SALAD WITH FETA

Barley, Kale and Beet Salad with Feta image

Number Of Ingredients 11

1/3 cup Olive Oil
2 tablespoons White Wine Vinegar
2 teaspoons Light Brown Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Orange Zest, Finely Grated
1 pinch Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
1 bunch Tuscan Kale, stems removed, leaves cut into 1/2" strips
1/4 cup Minced Shallots
3 pieces Beets (Golden preferred but not required)
4 ounces Feta (Can use low fat)
2 tablespoons Unseasoned Rice Vinegar
1 1/14 cups Barley (recipe said Pearled but I used Hull-less)

Steps:

Whisk 1/4 C olive oil, white wine vinegar, sugar and orange zest in a large bowl to blend; season with salt and pepper. Add kale and shallots; mix until completely coated. Cover and chill 3 hours or until kale is tender.
Alternative method: Use garden kale that was blanched and frozen and skip the time needed to wilt.
Preheat oven to 375. Arrange beets in baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and turn beets to coat. Cover with foil. Bake until tender (about 45 minutes). Let cool; peel and dice into 1/4" pieces.
Cook barley per instructions. Drain if needed and spread out on baking sheet to dry (I didn't need to do this with the hull-less barley_
Add beets, barley and feta to kale. Drizzle salad with 2 T olive oil and 2 T rice vinegar; fold gently to combine. Season with salt and pepper and more rice vinegar as needed. Cover and chill. Can be made 2 days in advance.