Soak your hulled barley over night or for at least 6 hours in 3 cups of water and ½ teaspoon of cider vinegar. Once soaked, drain and rinse thoroughly.
Instant Pot Cooking Instructions:
Place 4 cups of water in your Instant Pot liner and add the drained rinsed barley. Put liner in the pot set using either [Manual] or [Multi-grain] setting for 20 minutes with natural pressure release. Pour barley into a strainer and rinse with cold water; drain.
Rinse and thoroughly dry your liner, add ½ cup of water, steamer basket and 3 cups of cut asparagus. Place in pot, set using [Steam] setting for 3 minutes with quick pressure release. To retain a nice green color gently ladle asparagus into a bowl of ice water. Cool and drain.
Combine barley and asparagus in a large glass bowl and chill for 2 hours.
Prep your dressing by placing all the first 9 ingredients (except for the parsley) in a small glass jar with a top, shake vigorously, this will allow your herbs to bloom.
Once your barley and asparagus has chilled, rinse and drain the kidney beans. Add to the asparagus and barley, stir gently.
Add the dried parsley to your dressing, shake and quickly pour over the salad, toss gently and return to the refrigerator for about ½ hour.
Stove Top Cooking Instructions:
To cook barley on the stove place rinsed drained barley into a 3 - 4 quart sauce pan, bring to a boil, turn heat down to a simmer, cover and simmer 45-50 minutes. Once the barley is cooked drain and rinse with cold water; drain.
Place the 3 cups of cut asparagus into a pan with 1 cup of boiling water, cook about 5 minutes. To retain a nice green color gently ladle asparagus into a bowl of ice water. Cool and drain.
Combine barley and asparagus in a large glass bowl and chill for 2 hours.
Prep your dressing by placing all the first 9 ingredients (except for the parsley) in a small glass jar with a top, shake vigorously, this will allow your herbs to bloom.
Once your barley and asparagus has chilled, rinse and drain the kidney beans. Add to the asparagus and barley, stir gently.
Add the dried parsley to your dressing, shake and quickly pour over the salad, toss gently and return to the refrigerator for about ½ hour.
Notes:
For the Drive Thru Sue's: A quick dressing trick whisk ¼ cup of lemon juice with ¼ on plan Fat Free Italian Dressing.