Wheatberries

I picked up some wheatberries at my local market a while back, but had absolutely no idea what I was going to do with them. I poked around the interwebs, and came across a few recipes for a salad, with tomatoes and cucumbers, and a few recipes for a breakfast-type dish, with yogurt and honey. So I made both.

















To cook the berries, I covered them with water, brought to a boil, lowered the heat to a gentle simmer, and cooked until done, replenishing the water when necessary to keep the berries covered. I don't know how long I cooked them for - it was somewhere between 30 and 60 minutes - I just let 'em simmer until they were done to my liking, then drained.

Wheatberry Salad

cooked wheatberries
diced cucumber
grape tomatoes
cilantro or parsley
red or green (or both) onion
black pepper
sumac
lemon juice
olive oil

Mix everything together to taste.



Wheatberry Breakfast

cooked wheatberries
yogurt
dried fruit
honey
cinnamon
ground ginger

Mix spices into honey. Mix everything together.

I was really pleased with both dishes. The wheatberries are crunchy-chewy, slightly reminiscent of brown rice, with a pleasant taste, but mild enough to be versatile.

A nice multi-tasking grain - tasty, healthy, and possessing the textural attributes that I appreciate (i.e. no mushy). I'd love to make wheatberries a staple in my kitchen. If you have any favorite wheatberry (or brown rice, or lentil, since it appears that they're good substitutes) recipes, please let me know!