Smoked Salmon with Pearl Barley, Walnuts & Apples

From Claus Meyer’s kitchen to yours; try this smoked salmon with pearl barley, walnuts, and apples for your next dinner party and impress your guests.

Ingredients

¾ cup pearl barley (uncooked)
1¼ cups water
sea salt flakes and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon standard canola oil
finely grated zest and juice of ½ organic lemon
1 teaspoon acacia honey
2 celery stalks
1 oz fresh baby spinach
1 apple
1½ tablespoons walnuts
5¾ oz thinly sliced smoked salmon (or sea trout)

Directions

Rinse the pearl barley well in cold water. Put it in a saucepan, add the 1¼ cups of water and a little salt, and bring to a boil. Simmer with the lid on for about 20 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and let the barley stand, covered, for 5 to 10 minutes.

When the barley is done—it should be tender but still al dente—season to taste with salt and pepper.
Whisk the oil, lemon zest and juice, honey, salt, and pepper together in a bowl to make a dressing and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes to allow the flavours to develop.

Rinse the celery and spinach. Slice the celery very finely and mix with the spinach in a large bowl. Cut the apple into quarters, remove the core, and slice it very finely. Add it to the bowl, along with the cooked pearl barley and the walnuts, coarsely chopped. Mix the dressing into the salad and serve it with thin slices of smoked salmon (or sea trout) and some good bread.

Recipe from ‘The Nordic Kitchen’ by Claus Meyer (Mitchell Beazley)