This is a warm delicious salad – Zucchini, Barley, Chorizo Salad, you can make on the BBQ while you are waiting…..
Zucchini, Barley and Chorizo Salad
I just can’t seem to use up all of the ingredients I have in my pantry before there is one of those pantry raids. All of a sudden I look up and there are moths flying around the fluorescent light and I know I have got marauders in the cupboard again. You can look at it in a number of ways, they are annoying and if you dont watch out they flutter off to your wardrobe and nibble on your tea shirts. On the other hand it probably means that the food in my cupboards hasn’t been blitzed with so many chemicals that there is still something good in the food for bugs to eat!
I have a lot of the dry goods in my cupboard from Italy and they are organic and non heat treated (pastas, grains and polentas). I cooked a whole packet of barley and have been using it in all kinds of dishes. However, you can use any Barley at all. This salad is nutty and mixes very nicely with barbecued vegetables and meats.
A couple of the elements are BBQ’d then added to the rest of the ingredients making a lovely warm salad. Most of it can be made ahead, then the rest finished off right there at the BBQ. It could be one of your last BBQ efforts for the season if you are saying goodbye to summer, but for you over there….dreaming of spring this is for you x

Warm Zucchini, Barley, Chorizo Salad
Ingredients
- 1/4 piece preserved lemon rind chopped finely
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 60 ml olive oil 3 Tablespoons
- 40 ml lemon Juice 2 tablespoons
- 20 ml balsamic 1 Tablespoon
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 2 cups barley cooked
- 1/2 cup black olives
- 1 large Zucchini or 2 medium ones sliced into rings
- 125 gm tomatoes 1/2'd mixed cherry, 1/2'd
- 1 chorizo sausage sliced into rings
- 50 gm Goat cheese or feta
- 1/4 bunch chives chopped
Instructions
- Mix the dressing ingredients together in a bowl: preserved lemon, smoked paprika, olive oil, lemon juice, balsamic, sugar and salt. Using a whisk or a fork, whisk the dressing together well till emulsified then mix in the barley and set aside. Add the olives cut tomatoes and chives. don't stir in just leave till later.
- Toss the zucchini and sliced chorizo in a little olive oil and sear on the BBQ. Add these to the salad bowl and toss gently.
- Put onto a platter or into a bowl and break cheese over the top
What a yummy mix Tania! I hate those moths too- you can get pantry Moth traps at Coles that work fairly well, but my cat has also turned into a great moth exterminator 🙂 xox
That looks DIVINE. I hate pantry moths and have spent a fortune on tupperware in recent years to try and combat. So far so good. I bought some bulk spelt flour from a local shop’s flour bin the other day and was very impressed to see a bay leaf fall out when I was using it. No pantry moths there!
Those pantry moths are the worst aren’t they? Although thankfully now that the weather is becoming colder they tend to hatch less. This looks great. I love using barley in recipes!
This looks like a great salad, Tania. Love the ingredients and especially the dressing. You sure know how to close out BBQ season! And you’re right. I wouldn’t might starting our BBQ season with your salad.
You’ve gotten me so excited for grilling season!! The crispy zucchini is calling to me!
I’m glad it’s not just me! I saw a moth over the weekend and my heart sank – the warmer weather must be bringing them out. What a beautiful salad and perfect for this weekend.
If I see pantry moths at our place in the near future, I shall cry. We had a horrible time over summer and I couldn’t bear another infestation! This looks like a great use for your barley before the moths get to it, and lovely vegetable toppings too.
A lovely warm salad which autumn certainly would not stop me making 🙂 ! So easy to grill the same indoors!!
mmm…grilled chorizo, barley, and roasted veggies…an absolutely delicious combination, Tania.
I love your pretty plate. I have weavils and those bloody moths flying around too. Once you get them, they’re very hard to get rid of. A few weeks ago I took everything out of my pantry and threw away a lot of my dried goods. I found out that wiping your shelves and pantry walls with eucalyptus is a big help then putting bay leaves on the shelves. It was a big help but clearly I didn’t throw away all the suspect goods because yesterday I saw the first moth I’ve seen in ages. I did another check and found them in the polenta and some arborio rice – more throwing out! I’m going to redo the pantry with the eucalyptus over Easter – bloody nuisance xx
I just had a similar raid in my pantry and filled a huge bucket with the throw away grains. The chooks have been well fed this week! I think part of the problem came from buying grains from loose bin stores. But then I recently bought a packet of Sunrice brown rice ( Australian) with a use buy date somewhere in the distant future, opened the packet and there they were, little grubs. I have covered my pantry with bay leaves, and rubbed the shelves with diluted lavender oil, hoping this helps.
I hate pantry moths and I swear I get them more often than most. I’ve started putting dry stuff in the freezer for a few days and that helps but one time forgetting and I’m back to cleaning out the pantry.
I saw the title of this post in my email and wondered how you were putting barley on the bbq. I know you’re clever. Mine would fall through the cracks.
This salad is beautiful!
Love the idea of a barley salad! And argh aren’t pantry moths the most annoying blight ever!