I cannot say this enough: I LOVE trying to new foods, experimenting with unique recipes, and surprising my taste buds. Eating a wide variety of food makes me feel energized and I want to inspire you to do the same; EXPERIMENT! It is as simple as picking 2 foods each week that you have never tried and start putting them in your grocery cart! Trust me, you will discover a whole new horizon of possibilities and your body will thank you for the boost of extra nutrients! Be adventurous!
Wheat Berries.
Berries? No. The whole kernel from a wheat plant? Yes. The husk is removed, but the bran, germ, and endosperm are left intact, providing lots of fiber and nutrients like folate, potassium, B-Complex vitamins, iron, calcium, protein, and Vitamin E. They can be prepared in numerous ways; casseroles, salads, soups, stews, chili’s, or sprouted to grow wheat grass (known for centuries as a powerful healer and detoxifier). Wheat berries can be found at most specialty health food stores like Whole Foods or The Fresh Market in bulk bins, but check with your local grocer, they might surprise you and offer them!
The following recipe is a simple Spanish Wheat Berry Salad from Vegetarian Times Online. The wheat berries are toasted briefly before cooking to bring out their nutty flavor. The combination of lemon juice and olive oil in the dressing add a slightly sweet flavor and the chewy texture makes this salad a great addition to a bed of greens! Freshly grated parmesan cheese adds a little something extra. Why not? Two words: incredibly delicious!
Spanish Wheat Berry Salad
Vegetarian Times Magazine
Serves 6
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6 T Olive oil, divided
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1 1/2 cups wheat berries, rinsed and drained
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1 T Sherry vinegar (or I used red wine vinegar)
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1 T lemon juice
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1 clove of garlic (or more depending on your preference)
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1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
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2-3 sliced green onions
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1/2 cup red onion, diced
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1/2 cup kalamata olives, chopped
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1/4 cup toasted almonds, chopped
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1/4 cup flat leaf parsley
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1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (optional)
Directions:
In a 6-qt pressure cooker, over medium heat, add 1 T olive oil and toast wheat berries ~5 minutes. Add 4 1/2 cups of water and lock the lid in place. Bring to high pressure over high heat, reduce heat, and simmer ~30 minutes. (I used a regular pot but this takes more like 60-90 minutes for the wheat berries). Release the pressure, transfer to sink; run over lid with cool water, tilt and let steam escape. Drain berries.
Whisk 5 T olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, and garlic in a large bowl. Season with sea salt and pepper as desired. Add wheat berries and the rest of the ingredients. Toss to combine. Sprinkle with cheese, if desired. Serve at room temperature or cold!
Nutritional Profile per 1 cup: 331 calories, 8 g protein, 17 g fat, 2 g sat. fat, 37 g carbohydrates, 102 mg sodium, 6 g Fiber, 3 g sugars
QUESTION: Any Wheat Berry recipes to share? Provide a link!!
[...] Spanish Wheat Berry Salad from Vegetarian Times Magazine, as seen on The Healthy Apron [...]
[...] Wednesday: Spanish Wheat Berry Salad [...]
[...] last week I raved about a Spanish Wheat Berry salad, shared the recipe, and explained the nutritional benefits of these little kernels called wheat [...]
OMG…I recently discovered Wheat Berries and I LOVE them. I made this Wheat Berry Salad with Raisins, Pistachios and Goat Cheese. Amazing!!!
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000001973636
This recipe looks delicious! I haven’t used wheatberries, but now have an excuse to try them out
I LOVE wheat berry salad! I can honestly say I’ve never cooked them myself, but I’ve enjoyed several different tasty salads at the Whole Foods salad bar. I always come back for more
I love experimenting too. It’s fun when the food is entirely new. I don’t eat wheat but used to make a salad with feta and dried cranberries. This looks great.
Loooooooooooove Wheat Berries!!! Loaded with good stuff -) Great recipe, girlie (I can do without olives though). I get a wheatberry salad at whole foods a lot, really like how they make it!
Your salad looks delicious! I found wheat berries at Whole Foods on Friday and I am sooooo excited to try them! I am with you- I absolutely love trying out new foods and recipes!
wow this looks delicious! i love how chewy wheatberries are!
Looks Yummy! Love the premise behind your blog
Looking forward to reading more posts!
oh this looks great! I’ve wanted to use these before but always had a hard time finding them!
I love grain-based salads like this. They’re perfect for spring! I think I might try substituting quinoa or another GF grain and give it a try!
Hope you’re enjoying your weekend, Erin!
We sell a wheat berry salad where I work. I finally tried it not too long ago and I was pleasantly surprised by the taste. I hadn’t even heard of wheat berries until this year (or late last year) when I was looking up whole grains on the WHole Grains Council website!! They are definitely one that I will recommend more often. Thanks for the recipe!
I love cooking my Wheat Berries overnight in a thermal and eating them with some peanut butter and a sliced/mashed nanner for breakfast!
xoxo
Kathleen
You are always inspiring me to try new things…and now I have wheat berries on my grocery list for tomorrow! Thank you for sharing this delicious meal. I hope you have a beautiful weekend. Thanks for getting mine off to a tasty and adventurous start!
I’ve never had wheatberries before, but now I’m inspired to try them
I don’t think I have ever had a wheat berry before. Definitely on my list of foods to try!
I cooked up some wheatberries once but all I did with them is toss them on top of salads. I also added some to my cooked oatmeal. I like wheatberries but never thought about making them the center/focus of a dish. This salad looks so good I’m going to try it this week (after I get to Whole Foods, since my local grocery store does not carry them.)
I’ve never tried wheat berries as I can’t find them anywhere around here, but they seem delicious!
I’ve had wheatberries at whole foods and loved them but never made them myself. Looks like a great recipe to try.
I’ve never tried wheat berries…what do they taste like?
This looks amazing! Wheat berries are awesome!
oooh i’ve never seen anything like this! YUM!
THIS looks fantastic! I have wheat berries and I’ve been wanting to make something! Giada has a wheat berry and strawberry recipe that looks great, too…I believe it also has goat cheese in it. YUM! Thanks for the great recipe to try!
Why did it take me this long to figure out that you had a blog too!!!!! lol