Recipe

Festive Wheat Berry Salad

Recipe
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Photo by DrAyala

This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Vegetarian Holiday Side
Chef
DrAyala's Notes: The palette of this salad is perfect for Thanksgiving and fall and it makes for a healthy, delicious and nutritious side. Whole grains are important part for good nutrition. Wheat berries...
The palette of this salad is perfect for Thanksgiving and fall and it makes for a healthy, delicious and nutritious side.
Whole grains are important part for good nutrition. Wheat berries are the most wholesome and least processed wheat grain and include the entire wheat kernel—the bran, germ and endosperm. (For comparison, white flour is comprised only of ground endosperm.)
Look for wheat berries in the health food store or in the natural foods section of the supermarket. (Whole Foods usually sells them in bulk, which is great!) I like the hard red wheat berries, which are very high in protein, very nutritious, and have a sweet nutty flavor and a lovely chewy texture.

The trick with hard wheat berries is to plan ahead and soak them overnight. These grains are very hard indeed, and will require a very long cooking time if they’re not well-soaked.

This is a very simple recipe, and a dish everyone seems to love.

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Serves 6-8 as side dish

for the salad:

1/2 cup dry wheat berries, soaked overnight Ask a question about this ingredient

1 large ripe mango (can be replaced with oranges or persimmon), cut into cubes Ask a question about this ingredient

3 or 4 celery stalks, with the fibery outer parts peeled and finely diced Ask a question about this ingredient

10 pitted and finely chopped (can be replaced by another dried fruit) Ask a question about this ingredient

1 handful dried cranberries Ask a question about this ingredient

1 handful nuts, such as roasted almonds, candied pecans or walnuts Ask a question about this ingredient

dressing:

1 tablespoon fine sweet and interesting marmalade. I use organic Adriatic fig spread (sold at Whole Foods) Ask a question about this ingredient

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil Ask a question about this ingredient

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar Ask a question about this ingredient

1 sprig thyme, finely chopped Ask a question about this ingredient

Cook the wheat berries by covering them with two inches of water, then bring them to a boil, lower the temperature to simmer, and cook until chewy—about 15-25 minutes. Drain and let cool.
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Add all other salad ingredients besides the nuts.
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Combine dressing ingredients.
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Add the nuts and dressing right before serving.
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Any leftovers will keep reasonably well for a day or two.
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2 Comments on Festive Wheat Berry Salad

AntoniaJames added about 1 year ago

I just read your profile. I bet the food is excellent at your house! Your kids are so lucky. ;o)

AntoniaJames added about 1 year ago

This is lovely! I really like the combination of textures, and the sweet mango vs. the tart cranberries . . not to mention that the dressing looks very tasty. Saved!! ;o)