Ingredients

1 cup (250 mL) pot or pearl barley
2 cups (500 mL) water
1 cup (250 mL) chopped fresh parsley
½ cup (125 mL) chopped fresh mint
½ cup (125 mL) chopped green or red onion
1 small cucumber, coarsely chopped
¼ cup (50 mL) olive oil
¼ cup (50 mL) fresh lemon juice
½ tsp (2 mL) cinnamon
¾ tsp (3 mL) salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 plum tomatoes, chopped
Fresh mint leaves

In a saucepan, place barley and water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer; cover and cook for 40 minutes, then chill. In a large bowl, combine cooked barley, parsley and mint. Add onion and cucumber. Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, cinnamon, salt and pepper; pour over barley mixture and mix well. Shortly before serving, stir in tomatoes. Garnish with fresh mint leaves.

Makes 8 servings.

Nutritional Information (per serving):

Calories: 161
Protein: 3 g
Carbohydrate: 22 g
Fibre: 5 g
Sugars: 1 g
Fat: 7 g
Saturated Fat: 1 g
Trans Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 231 mg
Potassium: 209 mg