Really great!

Tried this recipe - it was fabulous! I made a few changes. I added lemon juice (to taste). I used my leftover pasta from the night before, so I served it room temp over mixed wild greens, instead of mixing in arugula. I garnished with grated parmesan and cilantro leaves. So good I will make it for the Fourth of July Potluck! Thanks for this recipe!

A tasty dish. The trick is to have everything hot at once so my advice is to make the pesto first. Then start the barley. I used Penne Rigate Pasta and put it into the prepared water when the barley had 11 minutes left to cook; exactly as long as the pasta took to be al dente. During those 11 minutes I recommend transferring the pesto to a microwave safe dish and heating it just before pouring it over the cooked pasta and barley. Last of all add arugula and tomato halves. I could not find arugula so baby spinach leaves worked perfectly. I forgot to read the reviews before making but think the lemon juice might be a good addition. If you have a meat lover some cooked hot turkey sausage in slices is another idea although it kills the calories and the vegetarian presentation. Don't hesitate to try this one. It is a keeper!

I loved the pesto sauce!! I added chopped, cooked chicken to mine and used spinach instead of arugula. Thanks!

This is a good salad if you LOVE cilantro. I happen to be one that does, but my children do not. I think that if it had some more vegetables and maybe some sort of vinegarette dressing it would be appealing to my family. I may try this one again, but with some modification.

I love cilantro and arugula but I couldn't even finish eating my large batch of this recipe. Something about the competing strong flavors of these greens made the dish tangy in a way that tasted almost like it had gone bad.