Beet and Barley Salad With Date-Citrus Vinaigrette Recipe (2024)

A simple, delicious recipe. The instructions very sensibly overlap steps 1- 3. I've come to prefer the Instant Pot for cooking beets (scrubbed and washed, halved or quartered, with 1 cup water, 25 mins + natural release. (I typically make 3-4 pounds of beets in the pot.) If you make Tennessee-style pickled beets (sliced or diced, in sweetened vinegar), the pickling liquid makes a great vinaigrette combined with EVOO, some lemon/lime juice, salt, pepper & minced garlic.

Excellent. The picture is a bit „idealized“. Beets will turn the salad pink, but they taste great. If you want to impress your guests — first optic impression — add the beets at the very last.

Sounds delicious. With hope for a sweet year, no sour on the table - no citrus, no vinegar - on the Erev Rosh Hashanah table for me. Only sweet flavors.

I wanted a substantial salad and since pomegranates are in season, I gave this a shot. It was a hit! I didn't have date syrup, so I subbed pomegranate molasses, which worked well. I did chop up a few dates. Thanks, Joan Nathan.

This was definitely a great salad, however, in the future, I will double the dressing. I'm usually someone who goes light, but it needed to be more pronounced to have more of a universal flavor in each bite as there is so much going on.

Looks delicious. Question: does it work without the feta or any dairy?

This makes a really delicious lunch. Added two more teaspoons of the date honey which was perfect for me. I did not have figs, so I used dates instead, but will definitely plan to try it with figs when in season. Would make a wonderful starter salad for a dinner party- it’s delicious and beautiful!

I wanted a substantial salad and since pomegranates are in season, I gave this a shot. It was a hit! I didn't have date syrup, so I subbed pomegranate molasses, which worked well. I did chop up a few dates. Thanks, Joan Nathan.

This is a great everything-but-the-kitchen-sink recipe for this time of year (Jewish New Year). I prefer a dressing with more acid, so I only used 3 T of oil rather than 5. It was plenty to coat the ingredients and brightened the flavor of the salad. No feta as my husband is not a fan. Goes well with any kind of a fish entre.

Excellent salad! The choice of figs is crucial; make sure they are sweet and ripe.

I used pomegranate molasses instead of date syrup and skipped the pomegranate seeds. When I was mixing ingredients I was doubtful I would like it; But... It Was quite good considering there is no vinegar in it. Next time I'll try it with the Date Syrup.

This was absolutely delicious - a perfect first course and one of the big hits of my Rosh Hashanah table!

Everyone at our Rosh Hashanah dinner enjoyed this salad, and it looks very pretty. That said, I was underwhelmed by it and will not make again. Tons of work (took most of a day to make), ingredients did not marry well (celery, grapes, olives, beets, all in the same mouthful?), and general flavor profile was too bland for me. I love salads with grains and lots of “stuff” but sadly this one wasn’t worth the effort.

This is almost oriental. Not in the taste but that everything is done ahead of time. The prep is most of the work. It's delicious, crunchy and full-flavored. We used maple syrup and that worked fine. This is great as a non-holiday lunch or light dinner.

Fabulous…Do add the olives.

This was sooo good. It is a hefty list of ingredients but - as others will do I'm sure - I modified slightly to our tastes and took some shortcuts to simplify prep time: Bought precooked vacuum-packed beets, no olives or celery, no feta to make it non-dairy. Added more garlic and date syrup as the dressing tasted too acidic to me. The barley, which I almost initially skipped, was a surprise hit. Fresh figs wowed. Love Joan Nathan's thoughtful interpretation of Rosh Hashanah foods.

Fantastic salad, everyone loved it. Used raw beets instead of cooked (less sweet/less mushy), skipped the grapes also to avoid too much sweet (and minimize steps, this salad is a lot of prep!) but increased the figs, increased the date syrup and lemon for a more flavorful dressing, minimized the herbs as I was afraid the flavors would be too strong, skipped the feta for a non-dairy option. Used radicchio and arugula as the greens, mint/thyme/oregano for herbs. Would increase the mint next time.

I eat jar salads for lunch at work and this made such pretty layers! I know it’s intended for a holiday meal, but I was the envy of the lunch buddies - dressing on the bottom, then the sturdier stuff, greens on the top and feta at the top.

What would be a good gluten-free substitute for the barley?