Barley salad with peppers, tomatoes and mozzarella

The credits for this dish go to Ilva who posted a recipe for farro alla caprese (spelt with tomatoes, mozzarella and basil) in september last year. Last weekend while doing my weekly shop at the supermarket I found myself looking at the different kinds of grains, and I suddenly thought of Ilva's dish and how yummy it had sounded - and looked! I bought barley instead of spelt and added peppers and some balsamic vinegar. The Boyfriend and I both liked the end result very much, in fact, so much that we almost ate the lot and there were only a couple of spoonfulls left to take as a packed lunch the next day (as had been the intention). I let the Boyfriend have them and made myself a sandwich - how nice is that, I ask you? Or we were very greedy, or the instructions on the packet were wrong as I had actually made 150g as indicated for four persons. Either way, I'll know better next time.

Barley salad with peppers, tomatoes and mozzarella (serves 2)

• 150g barley
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• half an onion, very finely chopped
  
• 2 peppers, preferably red and yellow, diced
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 ball of mozzarella, cut into small cubes
• 5-6 basil leaves, finely chopped
• salt and pepper
• a dash of balsamic vinegar

Soak the barley in cold water for 2 hours. Cook in a large pot of salted water until soft (about 40 minutes) or in a pressure cooker for ten minutes. Drain and set aside in a bowl to cool. Heat the olive oil, then fry the onion until soft. Add the peppers and fry for another few minutes over a medium heat, covered, until cooked. Leave to cool slightly, then season with salt and pepper. Add the peppers, tomatoes, mozzarella and basil to the barley and mix. Season with balsamic and maybe more salt and pepper.