Warm toasted barley salad with blood orange vinaigrette and roast shrimp is an easy and elegant option for lunch or dinner.
I’ve been on a whole grain kick ever since making those sweet potato and quinoa fritters that I shared the other day. This weekend, I went a little nuts in the bulk bins of the local co-op. Our kitchen is now overflowing with barley, freekeh, amaranth, millet, bulgar, and whatever else happened to catch my eye.
Since I don’t exactly have enough room in my cabinets to store everything I bought, I needed to use some right away. I toasted some of the barley and used it to make a warm salad with blood orange, avocado, feta, and roast shrimp – perfect for today’s shrimp showdown!
OXO and the NFI Shrimp Council invited several bloggers to participate in a Shrimp Showdown. They sent us each a selection of OXO products and challenged us to use at least 3 of them to prepare a show-stopping shrimp recipe. They also sent a bag of some of the most gorgeous shrimp I’ve ever seen outside of a restaurant – they were huge! (Keep reading to learn how you can win the same OXO tools I received, along with a $100 Visa giftcard so you can create your own recipe.)
I love OXO products in general, but I honestly don’t know how I survived to long without their Shrimp Cleaner. I stopped buying pre-cleaned shrimp a while back, when I realized how much cheaper it is to buy them with the shells still on. Until now, I used a paring knife to remove the shell and vein from my shrimp, which took forever and got pretty messy. This tool makes it so easy – once I got the hang of it, I prepped about a dozen shrimp in under 5 minutes. The package has some pretty good instructions, but you basically just shove the tool under the shell in one movement and let the teeth do the work. I’m grateful to never have to dig at a shrimp with my knife again.
I also used the Wooden Lemon Reamer to juice the a lemon and a blood orange to make the dressing and the Flexible Kitchen & Herb Snips to prepare the cilantro and parsley. (I also used the pair of 12″ Tongs with Silicone Heads to take my shrimp off the pan. I have a few pairs of these in various sizes and use them just about every time I cook.)
Warm Barley Salad with Roast Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1 cup [b]pearl barley[/b]
- 3 cups [b]chicken stock[/b]
- 1 pound [b]jumbo or colossal shrimp[/b] (I used U/15), peeled and deveined
- 3 tablespoons [b]olive oil[/b], divided
- 1 [b]lemon[/b]
- 3 [b]blood oranges[/b], divided
- 2 [b]green onions[/b], sliced
- 1/4 teaspoon [b]honey[/b]
- 1/4 teaspoon [b]ground coriander[/b]
- 1 [b]avocado[/b], diced
- 1/4 cup [b]red onion[/b], finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons chopped [b]cilantro[/b]
- 2 tablespoons chopped [b]parsley[/b]
- 1/4 cup crumbled [b]feta[/b]
Instructions
- Add the barley to a saucepan set over medium heat. Cook 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until golden brown and toasted. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Cover the pot and simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the barley is tender, about 30 minutes. Let cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat the oven to 400ºF. Arrange the shrimp in a single layer on a baking sheet; drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with a generous pinch of kosher salt. Zest the lemon; sprinkle half the zest over the shrimp. Roast 10 minutes, or until cooked through.
- White the shrimp and barley cook, prepare the dressing. Add the zest and juice one blood orange to a small mixing bowl. Add the reserved lemon zest, olive oil, green onions, honey, and coriander. Whisk to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the cooked barley.
- Peel and dice the two remaining blood oranges. Gently toss the barley with the orange pieces, avocado, onion, herbs, and feta. Top with cooked shrimp.
Nutrition Information
Amount Per Serving Calories 564 Total Fat 23.5g Fiber 14.9g Protein 30.6g
Katherine says
04/04 at 6:15 amI read this paragraph completely about the resemblance of hottest and earlier technologies, it’s remarkable
article.
Carla says
03/31 at 10:20 pmI’m trying really, really hard to think if I’ve ever cooked barley before. Adding this to my bucket list since I don’t think I have (plus I love blood oranges and shrimp).
Brianne @ Cupcakes & Kale Chips says
03/30 at 9:48 pmSo many amazing flavors! I’d love to try this with quinoa to make it gluten free!
Jeanette | Jeanette's Healthy Living says
03/26 at 9:43 pmWhat a gorgeous presentation! Love the idea of roasting shrimp.
Audra says
03/26 at 7:43 pmYou made a beautiful dish! I love barley and your dressing sounds amazing! Pinning this wonderful recipe 🙂
Brandie (@ Home Cooking Memories) says
03/26 at 2:50 pmLauren, this looks like a salad I would LOVE…not only are the shrimp beautiful, but that dressing sounds soooo good.
Margot C says
03/25 at 1:06 amWhat a gorgeous recipe; I wonder if I could get away with making it with a navel orange (I haven’t seen any blood oranges for awhile); or would that defeat the point of the flavor combination?
Lauren says
03/28 at 9:54 amI think regular oranges might be a little blah. How about grapefruit? I bet ruby red would be nice, since it has a similar sweet-tart flavor to blood oranges (plus that bright pop of color!)
Joanne T Ferguson says
03/24 at 9:09 pmG’day! I love shrimp called prawns here! Your salad looks delicious! I want to try it right now!
Cheers! Joanne
LydiaF says
03/24 at 8:46 pmLike you, I’ve been on a whole grain kick as I was mostly consuming wheat (products) and corn (products). I love this salad, and the plate you’ve chosen is gorgeous!
Renee's Kitchen Adventures says
03/24 at 8:30 pmBlood oranges are so good right now. Juicy and delicious. What a wonderful salad. Yum.
Camille says
03/24 at 7:43 pmBlood orange vinaigrette – sounds amazing! And a perfect pairing to the shrimp.
Nicole, RD says
03/24 at 7:23 pmI love every. last. ingredient. like….a lot! Making soon!!
MyMansBelly says
03/24 at 6:46 pmI’ve been on the whole grains kick lately too. I haven’t toasted my barley before…now I’m going to. This dish looks great.
Nicky says
03/24 at 6:27 pmThis looks delicious. I found you stumbling.
cheri says
03/24 at 2:05 pmLove these type of salads, they are my favorite!
Liz says
03/24 at 12:34 pmYour barley salad looks like the perfect canvas for this gorgeous roast shrimp! What a yummy dish!!!
Leah | So, How's It Taste? says
03/24 at 11:26 amThis salad looks perfect! I’ve never cooked with pearl barley, but I’m going to have to make this one!
Ginny McMeans says
03/24 at 10:48 amI love a barley salad and this looks great!!!
julia says
03/24 at 10:46 amI love shrimp!! This dish looks wonderful and that dressing is perfect too!
Lori @ Foxes Love Lemons says
03/24 at 10:43 amI agree – that shrimp cleaner is AMAZING! Once you get the hang of it, you can clean a ton of shrimp so quickly! And, lady? Shrimp + Blood Oranges? A love letter right to my heart.
Caroline Hurley says
03/24 at 10:22 amThis is such a gorgeous salad! I love everything about it…the barley, blood orang and that roasted shrimp! This would be such a healthy and complete meal! Pinning!
Paula - bell'alimento says
03/24 at 9:44 amHow good does this salad look! I’m a sucker for anything with shrimp.