This hearty and vibrant mushroom and kale winter salad recipe is the perfect way to ward off the frosty blues! The warm barley salad is tossed with kale, earthy woodland mushrooms and warm tomatoes, then scattered with creamy goat cheese, root vegetables, dried figs and pumpkin seeds. It’s delicious, super healthy and absolutely stunning!
What Does This Barley Salad Recipe Taste Like?
It’s so good you guys! I mean, lets be real…it’s pretty hard to make a bad salad. You really can’t go wrong putting a bunch of fresh ingredients from the earth in a bowl and tossing it with some warm barley!
I actually came up with the idea when I was thinking about a warm goat cheese salad I had in Cambridge, MA a few years ago. You know a salad is good when you remember it years later!
When you pan sear the wild mushrooms, their earthy and robust flavor comes out around the same time that they turn golden brown. The sweet tomatoes compliment the nutty mushrooms, and the raw carrot and pumpkin seeds offer a subtle crunch in every bite. The soft tart goat cheese crumbles lend a creamy dimension to this otherwise bright and crisp mushroom and kale salad.
How To Make Mushroom And Kale Winter Salad:
This easy warm winter salad can be tossed together pretty quickly! The only thing that takes a while to cook is the barley (usually around an hour), so I recommend starting that first while you chop and prepare the other ingredients.
- Make the barley according to the package instructions. My barley instructions said 1 cup of barley to 3 cups of water, and it took 1 hour of simmering before it was done cooking.
- While the barley is simmering, begin preparing the other ingredients. Brush any dirt off of the mushrooms, and chop off their ends, if needed. Thinly chop the carrot, grate the radish, chop the red onion and cut the dried figs in half.
- About 15 minutes before the barley is done cooking, heat olive, coconut or sunflower oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Toss in your mushrooms and sauté until golden brown. To achieve this, try not to stir them too much. Add the cherry tomatoes to the pan and continue to sauté for about 2 more minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- When the barley is done cooking, toss it with the kale. The heat from the barley will warm the kale without sacrificing its integrity. Add the mushrooms and tomatoes to the mix.
- Top with sliced carrot, shredded radish, red onion, figs, pumpkin seeds, microgreens and goat cheese. Drizzle with your favorite dressing and enjoy your colorful barley bowl!
If you are looking for an AWESOME salad bowl that will fit a big salad, this is the one that I have and I love it! BergHOFF Bamboo Salad Bowl
Substitutions:
Nothing is really set in stone with this unique salad recipe. Remember, this is Recipe Hippie! I have a very free spirited approach towards recipes, and my motto is to use what you have! So if you don’t have goat cheese, but you have brie, BY ALL MEANS use the brie! Here are some simple substitution suggestions:
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Frequently Asked Questions:
| What kind of dressing should I use? | I purposefully did not add a dressing recipe to this salad for two reasons: 1. The salad takes a little time to cook because of the barley, and a dressing would add more time, and 2. It tastes perfectly FINE with bottled Italian, ranch or balsamic vinaigrette! Use what you have, or make a simple oil and vinegar dressing. |
| Should I wash the mushrooms? | You can! I typically only brush the dirt off and cut the bottom of the stem off, but if you are not confident that the mushrooms that you have are clean, you can rinse them under water prior to cutting them. Once they are cut, the mushroom will absorb the water, and you want to avoid this. |
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Did you make this recipe? It would mean so much to me if you would rate it below the recipe card and tag me in your creation on Instagram so I can admire your work! @RecipeHippie
Mushroom And Kale Winter Salad
Ingredients
- 8-10 oz baby kale
- 1 cup uncooked barley
- 1 rainbow carrot, sliced into thin medallions
- 1/4 large red onion, chopped
- 1/4 yellow or red redish, grated
- 4 oz pioppino mushrooms, cleaned with the ends cut off
- 5-6 dried figs, cut in half
- 4 oz baby bella mushrooms, cleaned with the ends cut off, and sliced according to preference
- 5 oz red and yellow cherry or small tomatoes, some cut in half, some whole
- 1 hand full of pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
- hand full of microgreens (I used purple daikon radish microgreens)
- 1 4 oz block of goat cheese, crumbled according to preference
- 2 tbsp olive oil, coconut oil, or sunflower oil
- salad dressing of choice
Notes
- SALAD: We use baby kale because it is robust yet less harsh and bitter than its adult counterpart. Other salads that would go great in this would be: arugula, spinach or spring mix.
- NUTS & SEEDS: I quite honestly used pepitas, or pumpkin seeds, because that is what I had in my cupboard. They also remind me of fall/winter, so I felt like they were perfect. But nothing is stopping you from using walnuts, sunflower seeds, pin nuts or pistachios!
- TOPPINGS: Use what you have! Carrots and tomatoes are usually easy to find, but I understand that yellow radish, dried figs and purple micro greens might be a little more difficult to get your hands on. I encourage you to go to your local grocery store and purchase something exotic and different!
- MUSHROOMS: I HIGHLY recommend finding some good wild mushrooms for this recipe. They really taste AMAZING when pan seared! I used pioppino and baby bella, but shiitake, brown beech or oyster mushrooms would all work great.
Did you like this Mushroom and Kale Winter Salad recipe? If so, you should go check out my Shiitake Mushroom Pasta With Lemon Butter Sauce, Honey Yogurt & Fried Capers recipe!
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