Wheat Berry and Grilled Vegetable Salad
The sky is the limit for substitutions as far as vegetables for this salad are concerned. Add or take away whatever suits your fancy. Keep the dressing simple so the flavors of your ingredients shine through. Dice the vegetables to be about triple the size of the wheat berries to get a little bit of everything in each bite. Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked wheat berries, recipe link below
- 2 small zucchini and/or yellow summer squash, sliced ½ inch thick and grilled, small dice
- 1 small red bell pepper, grilled, seeds removed, small dice
- 1 small yellow bell pepper, grilled, seeds removed, small dice
- 1 medium ear corn, grilled, kernels cut off
- 1 tablespoon shallots, finely minced
- ¼ cup toasted pine nuts
- Lemon juice
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 10 large mint leaves, finely julienned
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, leaves and stems
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
Directions
1. In a large bowl, mix together the wheat berries through the pine nuts in the ingredient list and toss well.
2. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the top and season with salt and pepper. Toss well. Taste the seasoning and adjust.
3. Drizzle with olive oil and toss well. Check for seasoning again.
4. Add the mint, dill and parsley and toss again.
5. Place the cherry tomatoes in a small bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.
6. Arrange the tomatoes over the top of the salad and lightly toss to semi-incorporate. Don’t toss so hard so as to pop the insides out.
7. Serve at room temperature or chill in the refrigerator for up to 3 hours to serve later. Remove from fridge 1 hour before serving to allow the olive oil to melt.