Mediterranean Wheat Berry and Wild Rice Salad

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This great wheat berry and wild rice salad is a combination of two recipes given to me by two different clients. One uses only wheat berries and the other uses a bottled salad dressing. I prefer to make my own dressing and I find the shapes, textures and flavors of the wheat berry and wild rice interesting together. I like the sophistication of the roasted fennel bulb combined with pistachios, capers, sun-dried tomatoes and Kalamata olives. Lemon juice provides just the right amount of bite. One of the recipes also has a touch of prepared honey mustard....why not add it if you have it on hand?

Kosher Status:	Parve
Number of servings:	8 - 10
Main Ingredient(s):	Sun-dried Tomatoes, Rice ~ Wild, Olives - Black, Nuts - Walnuts, Capers
Preparation Time:	00:20
Cooking Time:	00:50
Skill Level:	1 - Easy (1 Easy - 5 Hard)
Estimated POINT value:

Ingredients:

2 quarts water
pinch of salt
1 cup wheat berries
1/2 cup wild rice
1/2 cup thinly sliced sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil
1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced and oven roasted until limp
1/2 cup pistachio nuts, roughly chopped
1/2 cup chopped basil
3 tablespoons capers, drained
24 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

Dressing:

1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons scallions, sliced on the bias
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh pepper

Steps:

Rinse the wheat berries and cover with water by 2" in a container. Refrigerate over night.

Drain the wheat berries. Bring water and salt to a boil in a large pot. Add drained wheat berries, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour. Drain and put into a large bowl to cool.

Rinse the wild rice and put into a small sauce pan. Cover with water by a few inches. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a medium boil and cook for about 45 minutes. The wild rice should be popped open and tender. Add water as necessary. When the rice is cooked, drain well and set aside to cool.

Add the cooled wild rice to the cooked wheat berries.

Add the prepared sun-dried tomatoes, sliced fennel, chopped pistachio nuts, sliced basil, capers, sliced olives and salt with the wheat berries. Gently toss.

Make dressing: Whisk together oil, lemon juice, scallions, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl.

Pour dressing over the salad and gently toss.

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About Leah

Hi! Thank you for stopping by to watch me, Leah, cook kosher. I've been the owner operator of my boutique catering firm in Seattle, Leah's Catering, for the past 14 years.
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