Lentil-Barley Salad with Snap Peas and Fennel

Hearty cold salads are great for hot night dinners. This one requires cooking the lentils and barley, but you can do that in the morning before it gets too hot and let them chill in the fridge until dinner time.

I used up the last of our snap peas on this, along with some of the fennel that is reaching a nice harvestable size right now. The recipe as given is pretty simple, but feel free to jazz it up with chopped fresh herbs (mint, parsley or basil would be good) and/or other vegetables, perhaps halved cherry tomatoes or shredded carrots.

1 cup uncooked brown lentils
1 cup uncooked pearl barley
5 cups water
2 cups snap peas, stringed and broken into 2 or 3 pieces
2 cups chopped fennel bulb
1/4 cup olive oil, or more to taste
1/4 cup red wine vinegar, or more to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine the lentils, barley, and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until tender but not too soft, about 25 minutes. Drain off any excess water and refrigerate.

When the lentils and barley have cooled, add the remaining ingredients and toss well. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Serves about 6.