Wheat WHAT? Honey & Citrus Wheat Berry Salad

I discovered wheat berries in the 1990’s while working at Central Market.  I know this because I found a small container of them in an original CM container.  That’s the first exciting thing about wheat berries - if you store them in an airtight container, they last forever.

The salad on the left is made with Butler's Gold Wheat Berries. The one on the right is made with Sonoran berries.

What is a Wheat Berry?

Literally it is the berry, or seed, of the wheat plant.  Each berry can grow one stalk of wheat.  So, they are both what farmers plant to grow the wheat that gets milled into flour and the thing that gets ground up and milled into flour.

Whole Grain Goodness!

Nutritionally speaking, a wheat berry is the entire, unprocessed kernel of wheat  (a whole grain) — the same grain that flour, pasta, and bread are made from — before it’s been milled or refined.

The wheat berry includes all three parts of the grain:

1. Bran – the outer layer, rich in fiber, B vitamins, and minerals.

2. Germ – the nutrient-dense core containing healthy fats, vitamins, and antioxidants.

3. Endosperm – the starchy middle that provides carbohydrates and protein.

Because wheat berries are whole, they are high in fiber, protein, and micronutrients, and has a chewy texture and nutty flavor when cooked.

Barton Springs Mill : My Favorite Wheat Berries

Wheat berries can be a little tricky to find.  Great news, you can order my favorite ones online from Barton Springs Mill.  This amazing locally-owned mill in Austin, Tx is super picky about who grows the wheat they mill.  AND they make the wheat berries for most of their unique varieties available.

Full disclosure - because I love their work so much, I teach cooking classes at the Mill off Fitzhugh Rd, just before RR12.

The goal of cooking is to get just the right texture...so taste often and cook to your liking!

Let’s Get Cooking

This super simple salad is perfect to keep in the fridge for a healthy lunch.  It also puts up with lots of abuse, so it’s good to pack in a lunch box or for a picnic.  It is interesting and elegant enough to take for a pot luck or as a dish if you’re joining a celebratory gathering.  AND, as Uncle Alton would say, it’s a multitasker.  You can swap out ingredients by season.  You can also use the dressing in a multitude of ways.

Honey & Citrus Wheat Berry Salad

Makes 3-4 servings.  Easily doubles.

A wonderfully flexible, delicious salad for Spring or Fall menus.  Add tofu, diced turkey or smoked ham for a heavier dish. Add texture and flavor to a kale salad by serving atop the greens.

1 cup uncooked wheat berries

1 orange, zested & juiced

1/3 avocado

1 lemon, juiced

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 carrot, peeled & grated

1 small raw beets, peeled & grated

3/4 cup dried cranberries

1-2 tbsp honey

Cover with 2 inches water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, covered until the berries are tender and some have opened, about an hour.  They will still have a bit of pop and a nice tooth.

Zest orange, set aside.  Put  juice of the orange (approximately 2/3 cup) and juice of lemon (2 tablespoons), salt, pepper and avocado in blender.  Blend until creamy.

Toss all ingredients in a bowl and stir in dressing.  Drizzle with honey and stir in.  Garnish with a spring of mint from the garden.

Wheat Berry Notes:

Sonora Wheat Berries - these retain their light color after cooking and contrast beautifully with the carrots and beets.  These berries are flavorful  but allow the citrus notes to stand forward. The aesthetic of this salad is great for all season but particularly Spring.

Butler’s Goal Wheat Berries - these berries are darker and have a deeper earthier flavor than the Sonoran.  The appearance of these berries is a bit more Fall like, but delectable any time of year.  I could see swapping out the raw carrots and beets for roasted ones with these berries - they would hold up the caramelization of the veggies.  Sweet potatoes would be another great addition.

Practical and Frugal Tips:

Vegetables grated on the "short" side make a great presentation.

Zesting: everyone has their favorite method.  Mine is a microplane grater.  Remember you can zest the lemon even though the recipe doesn’t call for the zest.  Dehydrate the zest and save for your next recipe.

Grate the carrot first, this will retain it’s beautiful color.  Grate the beet last as the red juice will color cutting board and fingers.  I like a shorter grate so I grate the end of the carrot and turn the beet often so you don’t wind up with long strings.

If you have a craving for  this salad but have no fresh citrus, it’s fine to use store bought orange and lemon juice.  The orange zest gives a special zing…but the recipe does work fine without it.

Make it Your Own!

I love the colors of the salad with the beets and carrots, but you can absolutely make it your own.  Don’t have (or don’t like) beets?  Blanch and chop thin asparagus spears instead.  Any swap will work, just keep color and texture in mind.

I love to serve this salad atop a bed of massaged kale.