Wheat berry salad: delicious treat
Is it cereal? Maybe it's what they grow wheat grass from? Maybe it grows on wheat grass?
I kept seeing it and somehow kept not trying it.
Finally, when I was stocking up for the Time of Quarantine, I threw a bag of it into my cart. My oldest is a Shipt shopper and could bring me fresh things but I wanted to have plenty of dry goods on hand. I figured I could find a cool recipe that would taste great and keep me well-nourished.
Of course I couldn't know if these mystery berries -- which, by the way, did not look like berries...except that they are round...would be good. But, wow, these little nutty nuggets are delicious and mixed with sweet fruit, nuts and herbs they are a-MAZE-ing!
Get your hands on a bag of wheat berries and make this salad that can be a treat or a meal.
Wheat Berry Salad with Fruit, Nuts and Umami Dressing
Serves 4
For the dressing:
- 3 tablespoon of oil (olive oil is best)
- 3 tablespoons of honey
- 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
- 1/8 teaspoon of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
- 1 cup of whole dry wheat berries
- 1 apple, chopped
- 1 orange (or tangerine or clementine), peeled and divided into segments
- 1/2 cup of dried cranberries
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1 cup of baby kale leaves
- 1 cup of chopped toasted pecans
- Make the dressing by combining all dressing ingredients in a bowl, and keep the bowl covered and chilled and ready to use.
- In a large heavy pot, cook the wheat berries by bringing them to a boil in water , making sure they are thoroughly submerged.
- Boil, uncovered, for about an hour.
- Drain them and set them aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, combine the cooked wheat berries with apples, citrus segments, cranberries, scallions, and baby kale.
- Toss the dressing into the bowl and mix well
- Sprinkle the toasted pecans into the salad right before serving.
