Like so many other recipes that I end up trying, I saw this one on an episode of Good Eats. The focus of the episode was barley, and consisted of five different recipes, each using the grain a bit differently. The recipe also contained fennel and bacon, which are both things that I really like. The recipe can be found here. This was probably my favorite of the recipes presented on the episode (though I have yet to try making barley water).

I enjoyed this salad. The flavor of the fennel bulb paired well with the earthiness of the barley and richness of the bacon. The citrus dressing left a bit to be desired, so I plan to incorporate some sort of wine vinegar into the dressing the next time it gets made. I would also slice the fennel much thinner next time I make this, probably going as far to get the mandolin out to do so.