Wheat Berry & Strawberry Salad

This is an easy and filling weeknight meal that I threw together today.  It starts with making a simple wheatberry salad.  If you've never tried wheat berries, you totally should: They are sturdy and filling, and (of course) super-nutritious.



Wheat Berry & Strawberry Salad with Citrus Dressing

1 1/2 c. wheat berries

1 pint strawberries, sliced

1 orange, sectioned

Juice of 1 orange

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Salt and pepper

1) Rinse the wheat berries well, then place them in a pot of water that covers them by about two inches.  Add a pinch of salt to the water, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer (covered) for about an hour.  When the wheat berries are tender and chewy, drain the water.

2) Toss the wheat berries with the juice of 1 orange and the juice of 1/2 a lemon.  (You can add olive oil at this point if you'd like to, but I try to avoid using oil unless it's necessary for a methodological reason in a recipe.)

3) When the wheat berries are cooled, add in the sliced strawberries and the orange sections.  (It would also be great with other kinds of fruit, or with fresh herbs like basil or parsley.  Give yourself permission to be creative!)

The wheat berry salad is done!  It takes a little while because of the long cooking time of the wheat berries, but it's very little hands-on time; it's a cinch, actually.

To assemble:  Lay out a bed of leafy greens on a plate.  I used some gorgeous mixed lettuces from my mom's garden, but fresh spinach would be good too.  Layer the wheat berry & strawberry salad over the top of the greens, and top it off with a generous sprinkling of roasted chickpeas.  (It would also be great topped with some toasted walnuts or pecans or sunflower seeds, if you prefer.)