Monday

spring salad

here's a fresh, hearty side dish that we served along side the pineapple glazed ham at urban family easter this year. wheat berries are a fairly new grain to us but we just love the nutty taste and find them very similar to farro. the addition of tender young asparagus, fresh pea shoots and chopped mint screams spring and is a testament to the beautiful greens at farmer's market this month. we used this pesto recipe from a past post but decided to replace the parsley with basil for a more traditional flavor. enjoy!

Spring Wheat Berry Salad with Spinach Pesto
serves 8

2 cups wheat berries
2 leeks, white & light green parts only, thinly sliced and washed
1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces & blanched
1 cup chopped pea shoots
1/4 cup chopped mint
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 cup spinach pesto (see recipe here)
2-4 tbs olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
3 oz crumbled goat cheese
in a large pot, combine wheat berries with 4 cups water and bring to a boil. reduce to a simmer and cook until tender but left with a little chewiness, about 1 hour. drain well and set aside. meanwhile, heat 1 tbs olive oil in a saute pan and saute leeks until translucent and softened, about 8 minutes. in a large bowl, combine wheat berries with leeks, asparagus, pea shoots, mint, lemon juice and pesto and toss to coat. add extra olive to loosen the pesto if it is too thick and season with salt and pepper to taste. serve at room temperature and garnish with crumbled goat cheese.

3 comments:

radish said...

looks so good and fresh!!

Mark Scarbrough said...

Such an inspired recipe. I LOVE wheat berries. Beg and plead for them--and then make them myself anyway. The pea shoots are inspired in this dish. What a taste of spring!

Amanda Mae said...

Came across your blog... and I LOVE IT. Great photos. I'm thinking about making this wheatberry salad soon. We have so much spinach and parsley from our CSA box... seems like a great way to eat our greens.