broccoli pesto with barley

A few years ago, I stumbled upon this recipe from Heidi at 101 Cookbooks and fell in love with the dish. It was a tasty way to sneak in lots of greens, eat briny olives, and feel reasonably good about it for its health benefits.

I've since made it in its original form with whole wheat pasta countless times. But this time around, I had some barley on hand, and figured that may be an interesting switch. After checking with Heidi for her thoughts, I gave it a whirl, cooking up the barley with a mushroom bouillon cube for some additional flavor, then making the dish as the recipe states with a delicious broccoli pesto, wilted spinach, briny olives, and leftover broccoli florets.

The result was a nuttier version of the dish from the barley, but man oh man, this is the type of dish that would make becoming a vegetarian bearable. (Only entertaining that thought for a brief moment in time, look ... it's passed.) Highly recommend you all give it a try.