Pages

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Summer Wheatberry Salad. My Favorite!

The finished product!

It’s hard to say what I like best about this wheatberry salad. I love the chewiness of the wheat berries and dried fruit, combined with the crunch of the celery and the pecans. There’s the sweetness from the orange juice, dried cranberries and drizzle of honey, that’s just sweet enough, countered by the vinaigrette and zing of the orange zest.

And then there’s the fact that it’s easy to make, and can serve as a side dish with dinner, or stand alone as the main dish at lunch. And did I mention that everyone loves it? It’s also a great source of fiber (about 6 grams per serving).


This is one of my favorite salads for the warm weather season. And yes, I realize it’s still springtime, but this recipe so reminds me of summer!

Enjoy!

Summer Wheatberry Salad Recipe

Serves approximately 12 (just about 1 cup per serving)

This is more scallion than you'll need!
Ingredients

2 cups dry wheatberries (also called hard red wheat berries) (will make 6 cups cooked wheat berries)
3 Tbsps. olive oil
1 cup orange juice
1 large tart apple, chopped, skin on (such as Granny Smith)
1 cup fresh mint (spearmint), chopped
4 celery sticks, diced
4 scallions (green onion), green and white parts, chopped
¾ cup pecans
1 cup craisins (sweetened dried cranberries)
¼ cup vinegar (red wine or apple cider)
1 tsp salt
1- 1 1/2 Tbsp honey (to taste)
orange zest from one whole orange
Fresh mint from my garden. The only thing I manage to grow well!

Consider adding chopped red peppers, red onion or additional celery for more crunch and larger volume per serving.



  1. Cook the wheatberries. Place the wheatberries into 6 cups of boiling water. Cook, uncovered, over low heat for 45 minutes, until soft and chewy. Drain.
  2. Place drained wheatberries in a large bowl. 
  3. Add all ingredients and mix thoroughly.
  4. Refrigerate. Serve cold or at room temperature.

How do I count this on an exchange plan? For a full cup this satisfies 2 grains and 2 fats. Toss in some grilled chicken to help round off the meal.

3 comments:

  1. Wow, this salad looks so fresh and wholesome. I will look for the ingredients when I go to the store next week. Thank you for sharing!

    -Emily

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh YUM, this looks divine!
    I just googled wheat berry (not something I had heard of before) - it seems to be called 'milling wheat' or 'wholegrain wheat' here in Aus and is something you can get from healthfood shops (we don't have 'Wholefoods' here :-(
    Will definitely give this a go!!
    xxxCate

    ReplyDelete
  3. This looks so unbelievably fantastic and the ingredients have already made my shopping list. Thank you, Lori! Hopefully mine turns out as beautiful as yours.

    ReplyDelete