I made a nice barley chicken salad for a(nother!) baby shower here at work:

Balsamic Chicken & Pearled Barley Salad

In a large oven-proof dish, place 4 large chicken breasts (bone in, skin on), skin side up. Slip sprigs of fresh thyme under the skin, being careful not to break it (or you could just place the thyme on top). Cover with about 1/2 c. balsamic vinegar, making sure some adheres to the top of each piece. Sprinkle with salt & pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Halfway through the cooking, turn the breasts breast side down, so they absorb the vinegar. Bake for about 45 minutes at 450 degrees, or until a knife inserted in the thickest part produces clear juice. Remove from baking dish and let cool.

Meanwhile, prepare the pearled barley. Rinse it 2-3 times, or until the water is mostly clear. In a large stock pot, cover with a generous amount of water and about 3T of salt. Set on high heat and boil for about 45-50 minutes, or until tender.

Drain the barley well, but do not rinse it. Transfer to a large bowl. While still warm, grate the zest of and add the juice of one lemon directly into the bowl. Toss to coat.

The chicken should be cooled by now. Remove the skin and pull the meat off the bones. Cube or roughly chop into about 1/2 inch pieces (or shred it, if you want to). Add to the barley.

Dice about 3 bulbs of fennel into 1/4 inch cubes. Mince about 3 t. garlic.

In a large pan, heat about 4 T. olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant and rising to the top of the oil. Add the fennel and about 1 T. salt, and saute for 5 minutes, or until only slightly softened but still crunchy inside.

Add the fennel mixture to the barley mixture.

In a small bowl, combine about 2 T. good balsamic vinegar, 4 T. olive oil and 1 t. fresh thyme to make a vinaigrette. Add the vinaigrette to the salad and toss to coat. Add more lemon juice and salt to taste.

I like the idea of using barley because it's so healthy for you. Pearled barley has a nice consistency, so it's filling, but won't weigh you down; perfect for convention lunches!