Meatless Monday – Summer Wheatberry Salad

summer_wheatberry_salad

We recently became the recipients of some Montana wheatberries via Marco’s banjo teacher, Kevin, who is trying to work his way through a 40 lb. bag.  Always up for a challenge, I immediately thought about some summery salads that would incorporate wheatberries

There was some trial and error with regard to cooking the wheatberries but once that was mastered, it has been smooth sailing.  For our gluten-free readers, cooked brown rice is an easy (and tasty) substitute for the wheatberries.


Wheatberries
Soak 1 cup of wheatberries overnight or quick soak them (Cover wheatberries with ample water, boil for 5 minutes, turn off heat.  Cover and let sit for 1 hour.  Drain.).

Bring pre-soaked wheatberries, 8 cups of water and 1 tsp kosher to a boil over high heat.  Simmer, uncovered, for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until wheatberries are tender.  The wheatberries will appear to puff slightly.  Drain and rinse with cool water.

At this point, the cooked wheatberries should be stored in the fridge until needed.  If you are into batch cooking, the cooked wheatberries could also be frozen for soups and other grain mixes.

Summer Wheatberry Salad
Serves 4

Hearty beans, summer corn, toothsome wheatberries and briny feta make salad a perfect Meatless Monday meal and other than cooking the wheatberries (which can be done ahead of time), it requires no cooking.

Dressing
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. sherry vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Salad
1 cup fresh cooked corn off the cob or frozen corn, thawed
1 cup cooked wheatberries
1 cup white beans
1/2 orange bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp. lemon zest
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped (sub any summer tomatoes)
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

To make the dressing, whisk together all of the ingredients in a small bowl,  Set aside.

Add all of the salad ingredients, except to feta, to a medium serving bow and mix to combine.  Drizzle prepared dressing over the salad and toss well.

Garnish with crumbled feta.

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