Monday, June 23, 2014

Summer's Here!

I spent some time on the first day of summer going through a couple of my favorite cookbooks and recipe files. Now that I have a much bigger kitchen, I am super excited to start cooking up some of my favorites!

While getting back into my weekly meal planning for work, I decided this week I would pick one of my summer favorites.

Veggie Wheat Berry Salad

 Lots of chopping ensued...

 
 Green Bell Pepper, Cucumber, Red Onion, Celery and Tomatoes all looking pretty in the bowl...
Prep Time: 20 minutes, plus soaking and marinating time
Cook Time: 1 hour
Servings: 4

1 cup wheat berries, preferably the soft wheat variety
1 lb tomatoes, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded and finely chopped
3 celery stalks, cut lengthwise into thirds and finely chopped
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
Several dashes hot red pepper sauce

1. Soak wheat berries in a big bowl of cool water for at least 8 hours (up to 16 hours max). Drain them in a fine-mesh sieve or colander. Pour wheat berries into a large saucepan, fill it about two-thirds of the way with water, and bring to a boil over high-heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until grains are tender with some chew still left, about 1 hour. Drain, then run under cool water to bring wheat berries to room temperature. Drain thoroughly.

2. Put cooked wheat berries in a large bowl and stir in remaining ingredients. Set aside to marinate at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving.

Tips:
I will generally take 1 cup of wheat berries and soak them in water overnight in a covered dish in the refrigerator. Cooking time has taken anywhere from 1 hour to 1.5 hours. The recipe calls for 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce, but I add 2 tablespoons. I also opt to leave out the hot red pepper sauce. Finally, I do not leave out to marinate at room temperature. I immediately put mine in the refrigerator.

Bon appetite!

2 comments:

  1. You know, I'm not familiar with wheat berry, but we do something similar with both orzo and couscous. I love the idea of the worsterchire! mmm! I bet you could do this with farro too. I love the diced colorful veg :)

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    1. I had never heard of wheat berries until I came across this recipe and then as soon as I looked for it in my local health food store, it had been right in front of my face the whole time. I imagine this would be delicious with orzo or couscous. I may have to try that next time. The Worcestershire sauce really kicks the whole thing up a notch!

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