Oh behave. My torrid affair with the Moosewood Cookbook continues, and I have unusual grains like Wheat Berries tucked in a corner of my mind. So when I see a bag of Red Mill White Wheat Berries on the shelf at DeCicco's, I think, Ah-hah, yes, I should buy these.
Wheat berries refers to the entire wheat kernel, except for the hull:
They resemble barley, and take about an hour and change to prepare. They smell really good while cooking—toasty, nutty, with a little bit of vanilla in there as well. The Red Mill bag had a salad recipe on the back which I tweaked to suit my own purposes, and served with some grilled apple sausage.
Tweaked Red Mill Wheat Berry Salad
- 1 cup cooked wheat berries (1/2 cup grains to 1 3/4 cup water, simmered for at least an hour)
- 1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
- 10-12 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2-3 stalks celery, sliced
- 1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced
- 2-3 scallions, sliced, or 1 tbsp dried, minced onion
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- Vinaigrette of olive oil, white wine vinegar and honey mustard (or equal parts honey and dijon mustard but the mustard really is the star that pulls the salad together, don't skip it)
Combine all ingredients, toss well. Serve.
Die.
The greens are a sauteed kale, red onion and toasted corn salad which my friend Cyd told me about only in terms of ingredients. I kind of just fudge it all together and it's awesome (plus it addresses some of my anemia issues).
