Wheat Berry Salad with Cranberries, Green Onion, Toasted Pecans, and Feta
Thursday, July 8, 2010Featured on Foodista’s Food Blog of the Day, July 25, 2010.
Wheat Berry Salad
Ever since the great feedback I received from my Wheat Berry Sunshine Salad, I’ve been itching to throw together another recipe featuring this healthy whole grain.
Wheat Berries
If you’re unfamiliar with wheat berries, they are simply whole kernels of wheat — the same stuff that flour is made of when ground down. They’re a great source of fiber, and have a wonderful nutty flavor and hearty chew to them.
Inspiration for this Wheat Berry Salad with Cranberries, Green Onion, Toasted Pecans, and Feta comes from the need to clean out my fridge.
I salvaged a lonely bunch of green onions from the vegetable bin, and rummaged around the pantry for other additions. Sweet-tart cranberries and toasted pecans are staples in my regular green salads, so I was willing to bet they’d work in this wheat berry salad as well. The final ingredient proved to be a handful of cubed feta. Just the thing needed for an extra savory boost.
Dried Cranberries, Pecans, and Green Onion
Dressed with a simple balsamic vinaigrette, this no-fuss salad was a breeze to whip up, and really tasty. The cranberries added a touch of sweetness to the mix, and all the savory, tangy, crunchy, nutty components played nicely together.
Top with some grilled tofu or chicken, and you have yourself a light, flavorful, fast meal! Added bonus: It’s a great make-ahead dish since the extra time allows the wheat berries to really soak up the vinaigrette. The cranberries will plump up nice and juicy too. I know what I’m making my next BBQ this summer…
Wheat Berry Salad with Cranberries, Green Onion, Toasted Pecans, and Feta
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Yield: 4 servings (as a side dish)
Ingredients:
½ cup soft wheat berries
2 cups water
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup finely chopped green onion
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup toasted pecans, roughly chopped
4 ounces feta cheese, cubed
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
¼ olive oil
½ teaspoon whole grain Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
Preparation:
1. The wheat berries take about an hour to cook through, so you want to get these going first. Rinse the wheat berries, then, in a saucepan, combine them with the water and salt. Bring to a rolling boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for one hour or until tender. All the liquid should be absorbed.
2. Meanwhile prepare the vinaigrette by whisking together the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, mustard, and honey. Set aside.
3. Combine the cooked wheat berries, green onion, cranberries, pecans, and feta. Dress with as much vinaigrette as you’d like. I use about ½ the amount this recipe makes.
Print RecipeUpdate: This recipe is featured on Appetites, the interactive cooking app for iPad!
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Great healthy mix! Never used wheatberries – will have to add it to my grain supply.
The last time I cooked up some wheatberries was after Thanksgiving! It’s about time they make an appearance on my plate again. And whaddaya know? I have all the ingredients on hand (except for the pecans – hopefully, I’ll be forgiven for using walnuts instead). Thanks for the reminder about how fantastic this whole grain is!
So what’s the diff between wheat berries and farro?
Great question! Farro is an ancient cousin of wheat, while Wheat Berries are whole kernels of wheat. Cooking time for farro is less than wheat berries, I suspect b/c it’s often sold “semi-pearled,” meaning the bran has been partially rubbed off. This could also explain why wheat berries have a chewier texture.
Despite differences, the flavor of both is similar and this recipe could certainly use one or the other!
This sounds fabulous, I love fruit, nut and vinaigrette combinations. They go well in almost anything and the wheat berries would provide an nice chewy texture.
This is a great example of coming up with something incredible from next to nothing. Such great textures and tastes, and beautiful, too.
Congratulations for being chosen as Food Blog of the day at Foodista. You can also add foodista widget at the end of each of your blog posts so they will also appear in the Foodista pages.
Thanks, Christine! I’m honored!
I came across your blog looking for Terry Wakefield from Bissenger’s Chocolates and saw your interview. Love the blog and have told a lot of my friends about it. I have made this recipe twice in two days and am IN LOVE. This is so delicious and have shared the recipe around my area. We are all enjoying wheat berries now…they are delicious and I can’t wait to try more recipes with them. It’s nice to see recipes from the west coast and I am having a dinner party soon to make dumplings with an assembly line…fun!
Hi Patty,
Thanks so much for the kind words! I’m glad you love this recipe as much as I do
keep spreading the love (and wheat berries)!
[...] Wheat Berry Salad with Cranberries, Green Onion, Toasted Pecans, and Feta [...]
Tried this recipe – it was very tasty and interesting with the wheat berries – i tweaked it a little (added a brunoise of two varieties of radishes and cucumber) – it’s a keeper – we had it two nights in a row! My husband also really enjoyed the taste. Thanks for this! I enjoy your food blog as well. Keep up the good work.
Hudson Quebec Canada
Hi Joan, I’m so happy this dish made it to your table
and even happier that you made it your own and loved it! yayy!