Wheatberry Salad

Here is a picture of what we had for dinner last night, and I must say, it was really good. Of course this is the kind of thing I tend to like anyway (I love interesting grains and salads), but I think the combination of the citrus flavor (orange zest, mmm!) and the olive oil and the feta was particularly surprising (and delicious).

And evidently people are calling them "wheat berries" these days. But it's plain old wheat, just grains of wheat, wheat before it gets ground up for flour. You could buy gourmet-looking, "good-quality" "soft white wheat berries" at your fancy-schmancy Trader Joes/Whole Foods, or, alternatively, you could bring up one of the dented steel cannisters of 30-year-old wheat you have in your food storage because your aunt gave it to you after inheriting it from your grandpa (and finding Grandma's diamonds in one of the cannisters . . . but that's another story)---but either way you should be fine.

I love the way wheat tastes when it's cooked like this: soft but chewy. The recipe is really easy to make, but the wheat needs to cook for an hour or so (I think I did 70 min.) to get soft, so plan ahead. (For me, anything that takes longer than an hour to put together constitutes "planning ahead," since I don't usually saunter down to the kitchen until around 4:45 to start cooking.)

Try serving it with a fruit/yogurt smoothie. Yum!

Wheat Berry Salad with Citrus, Pine Nuts, Feta and Spinach

recipe from this blog here
also from Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Cooking, evidently

2 cups wheat berries , rinsed

6 cups water

2 teaspoons salt, plus more as needed

Citrus Dressing:

Grated zest and juice of 1 orange

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon minced shallot (I used chives)

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 generous handfuls spinach leaves, stemmed and well rinsed

1 cup toasted pine nuts

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Combine the wheat berries, water and 2 teaspoons salt in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, covered, until plump and chewy, about an hour or so. The berries should stay al dente, and the only way to be sure they're done is to taste a few. Drain and season to taste with more salt.

To make the dressing, combine the orange zest and juice, lemon juice, and shallot. Whisk in the olive oil and season with a few pinches of salt and a few grinds of pepper.

Toss the hot wheat berries with the spinach, pine nuts, citrus dressing, then stir in the feta. Taste for seasoning and sprinkle with a bit more salt if needed.