Un-Americanize Your Diet

Wheatberries and summer vegetable salad

What are wheatberries? It is a whole grain that is rich in protein and fiber.  1/4 cup of this nutrient rich grain has 7grams of protein and 5grams of fiber with only 1 gram of fat (unsaturated).  It is also called farro.  It is simple to cook, like rice.

We can purchase wheatberries through our CSA.  In the above salad I used pearled farro (pearling removes the outer husk and shortens cooking time) with summer vegetables mostly from our garden.

Ingredients

4 cups water

2 cups pearled farro (if not pearled adjust cooking time)

2 red bell peppers (or any color), chopped

2 regular sized cucumbers or 1 large, cut into 1/4 inch pieces

3 scallion, sliced thin

1/4 cup olive oil

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/2 cup chopped fresh mint

To prepare farro:  bring water to a boil.  Add 1/2 tsp salt.  Add farro and reduce heat to medium-low  Cover and simmer 15-20 minutes until tender to taste.  Drain any excess water and cool to room temperature.

Mix olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper (1/2-1 tsp of each to taste).  Pour dressing over farro and blend.  Mix in vegetables but hold fresh herbs.  May prepare up to this step ahead of time (up to one day ahead).

Mix in fresh herbs and serve.

1 cup of this salad has 177 calories, 20 grams carbohydrates, and 4 grams of protein and fiber.