Wheat berry salad

December 29, 2009  •  Category:

 

Yesterday I was invited to lunch at Tawlé , the latest “in” restaurant in Beirut. The food there  is cooked by different  chefs  every day who cook the specialties of their village. You never know from one day to the next what to expect. The food is served buffet-style, with unlimited refills  and the stylish and sophisticates  eat it  shoulder to shoulder on long benches; the atmosphere is very convivial  and it is always packed!  Apparently Beirutis are eager to get reacquainted with rural food la cuisine du terroir. On that day, the featured cuisine was from a village in  South Lebanon: lentil  kibbé, a keshk soup, a wheat salad, meghli pudding, a muhallabiyeh flavored with rose water, markook bread,  were some of the dishes.


My favorite dish was  the wheat berry  salad; it was light and lemony and with the rustic goodness of wheat. So the next day I bought some wheat and made it  at home. Wheat is the symbol of prosperity , what could be more fitting for the new year?

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INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 cups of wheat
  • 6 cups of water or veggie broth or throw in a cube of bouillon
  • A handful of chopped parsley
  • Dressing: 3/4 cup of fresh lemon juice and 1/2 cup of olive oil, or more as needed
  • Garnishes: a handful of raisins and some nuts
  • 2 tablespoons of oil  to fry the wheat berries in

METHOD:

  1. Heat some oil in a large pot. Fry the wheat until the grains are coated with it.
  2. Pour the hot water and bouillon cube and bring to a boil.
  3. Simmer for 45 minutes or until the grains are doubled in size and fluffy and tender. About 15 minutes before the end of cooking time throw in the raisins.
  4. Pour the dressing on the wheat and toss to coat evenly. Add the chopped parsley. Garnish with the toasted nuts.


 

Comments

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  1. oum mouncifrayan says:

    excellent what you do joumana!!!! bravoooo

  2. Angie@Angie's Recipe says:

    This is a great winter salad! I love all the nuts in this salad too.

  3. Joanne says:

    That sounds like such a fun restaurant. You never get the same experience twice!

    The wheatberry salad sounds fantastic. I love raisins and nuts in a grain salad.

  4. Julia @ Mélanger says:

    What a great idea of having a restaurant where different chefs cook from day to day. Certainly would keep things interesting from a menu standpoint. I love salads like this. Wholesome, flavoursome. Delicious.

  5. Murasaki Shikibu says:

    Not sure I’ve seen wheat berry around here. The language issue doesn’t help me find ingredients such as these either.
    This looks very appetizing though. 🙂

  6. Kitchen Butterfly says:

    Stunning salad…..I love how you’ve presented it and I too love wheatberries….though I haven’t had them in ages. Have a great 2010!

  7. farida says:

    Ohh, how I love wheat berry salads! I often improvise and just add whatever vegetables herbs I have at hand. Your version sounds very delicious. Thanks for sharing! Happy New year to you and your loved ones!

  8. cmiranda says:

    Nice post, I’ve never had wheat berry salad but I have a whole collection of wheat berry recipes here at home but your pics are so nice I think it’s something that I should try for the New Year also.

  9. domi says:

    Quelle jolie petite ” montagne ” gourmande…

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