Red Wheat Berry Salad - Whole Grain Gourmet

What's this all about?

We love whole grains! We have found that we prefer their flavor. They are also far healthier than the refined foods which characterize the typical modern diet.

Switching to whole grains helps maintain a low glycemic diet. That means you will have more sustainable energy levels throughout the day, and probably fewer problems with weight control.

We created this website with one goal: to build an online community of like-minded people who either share our enthusiasm about whole grains or just want to learn more about them.

Recipes

Salad

Red Wheat Berry Salad

Recipes

Red Wheat Berry Salad

Written by Whole Grain Gourmet

Monday, 31 March 2008 22:34

red wheatberry salad

Some good friends of ours recently asked us for this recipe. They planned to serve it at a family Easter dinner. We met with them yesterday and it sounds like they loved it. It had been a little while since we last made it, so we decided to put some red wheat berries to soak last night before bed.

As I sit here with a full belly writing this, I sure am glad we did. This is a delicious whole grain salad. The texture of the wheat berries, wild rice, pecans, and cranberries is fantastic. The flavor combination is wonderful. If you have never tried a wheat berry salad then this is a great way to do so. I usually serve it over a bed of fresh spinach, and accompany it with grilled shrimp. Toss the spinach in some olive oil and lightly salt it with a pinch of kosher salt before topping it with the wheat berry salad.

Red Wheat Berry Salad

Ingredients:

1 cup hard red winter wheat berries, soaked overnight
1/2 cup raw wild rice
2/3 cup toasted chopped pecans
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup chopped green onions
3 tbs fresh lemon or lime juice
1 tbs honey
1 tbs dijon mustard
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Preparation:

Soak the wheat berries overnight in cold water, covering them 3 inches. Drain the water in the morning.
Boil the wheat berries in 6 cups of water for about 50 to 60 minutes, or until tender. Add more water as necessary to keep wheat berries covered during cooking. Drain excess water from the wheat berries when done.
In another small pot, boil 2 cups of water. Add the wild rice and simmer for about 45 minutes, or until the rice begins to split. I prefer to undercook the wild rice slightly so that it retains some structure. Drain excess water.
Combine the cooked wheat berries and wild rice in a large bowl.
Whisk the lime juice, honey, mustard, salt, and pepper to make the dressing. Add the dressing to the wheat berries and wild rice, mix thoroughly.
Now add the cranberries, pecans, parsley, and green onions and combine well.

print recipe