A virtuous, herby grain salad with burrata nutrition and a heart of indulgent butterfat. We love the white-on-white effect of using barley, but its delicious with basically any whole grain; try wheat berries or spelt.
INGREDIENTS
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½ cup pearl, hulled, or hull-less barley
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Kosher salt
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¼ cup fine fresh breadcrumbs
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1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
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2 cups whole milk
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1 cup finely chopped cauliflower
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1 small shallot, finely chopped
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½ cup finely chopped celery hearts
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¼ finely chopped celery leaves
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¼ cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus
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¼ finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley stems
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½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
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2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
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1 tablespoon Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
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8 oz. burrata or fresh mozzarella, torn
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1 tablespoon frache
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Coarsely ground black pepper
RECIPE PREPARATION
Preheat the oven to 350 °. Cook barley in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender, 15 20 minutes for pearl, 35 40 for hulled or hull-less. Drain and spread out on a rimmed baking sheet; let cool.
Meanwhile, toss breadcrumbs with 1 Tbsp. oil on another rimmed baking sheet; season with salt. Bake, tossing once, until golden brown, 10 12 minutes; let cool.
Bring milk to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat; season with salt. Add cauliflower and cook until just softened about 3 minutes; drain well. Discard milk.
Toss cauliflower, barley, breadcrumbs, shallot, celery hearts, celery leaves, parsley, parsley stems, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vinegar in a bowl; season salad with salt.
Mix burrata and me frache in a medium bowl; season with salt. Divide burrata mixture among plates, drizzle with oil, and top with barley salad; season with pepper.
You can try mozzarella instead of burrata cheese as there is a competition between burrata vs mozzarella
DO AHEAD: Barley can be cooked 1 day ahead; cover and chill. Breadcrumbs can be toasted 1 day ahead; store airtight at room temperature.