Monday, November 23, 2009

Red Cabbage and Wheat Berry Salad



I made a new friend  over spring and we continued to hang out over the summer, best Mpls summer yet! I remember going to her house for the 2nd or 3rd time and she had just whipped up this incredible spread of food. Red cabbage and wheat berry salad, hummus, home made pita-fresh from the oven, this zucchini and something-or-other dish; it was amazing!!

Craving the wheat berry salad later that week, I scoured the net for a similar one. I ended up finding Mark Bitman's book-How to cook everything  Vegetarian and made the salad that day.

There' s something really amazing about the heartiness of the wheat berry with the lightness and crunch of the cabbage, the coarse mustard dressing is  really perfect. This is a great summer salad or a perfect side to a heavier dinner over the winter.

Ingredients:
  • 4 cups finely chopped or shredded red cabbage
  • 2 cups whole wheat berries
  • 1/2 med red onion - thinly sliced
  • 1 to 2 carrots - shredded

Dressing:
  • 2 tablespoons coarse mustard
  • 1/2 cup Extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons red wine or other vinegar (apple cider)
  • Salt and fresh gound black pepper
Toss ingredients in bowl and set aside. Whisk mustard, oil and vinegar together, add a little salt and a good 1/2 tsp of fresh ground pepper. Mix into cabbage and enjoy!

A few tips and tricks, if you have too much cabbage after chopping the entire head, bag it up and store in the fridge. It will last a decent amount of time (couple of weeks?). I also do not yet have a pressure cooker, oh.. I so want one but am going to hold off until I can get the super deluxe type. I have a huge fear of blowing up a pressure cooker in our kitchen. I digress, if you do not have a PC like me, cook a good batch of the wheat berries (really easy) and throw in two cup portions in the freezer. Add your berries to soups, chili, tacos, burritos, you'll be surprised at how many things you can use these in.

The links listed above provide info on wheat berries and how to cook them, they really are a great addition to any diet. I promise that you will love this salad, eat it alone, throw it in a pita, add apple or walnuts, use different cabbages or grains; the options are yours for the taking.

4 comments:

fiddlewitch said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
fiddlewitch said...

great blog! we're neighbors on fremont who picked up our 1/2 share CSA from your house all last summer. been veg over 30 yrs (!) and vegan since last spring. my husband the cook is gonna love the sausage dish and the cabbage salad. keep up the great work!

www.smellwhatimcookin.com said...

Fiddlewitch - love the profile pic!! Wish I had the chance to chat more with everyone that picked up, we need more neighborly love! I’ll keep my eye out for ya as we’re walking around the neighborhood. Hopefully, we’ll do the CSA next season as well. Would you believe that I think I miss Kale?!?! I think I had that stuff coming out of my ears at some point.

Thanks for the kudos, I’m happy you’re enjoying. You’ll have to let me know if you have any recipes that you’d like to share. I would love to make them and post 

Dianne D. said...

This salad is to die for! It's soooo good and sooo healthy! You cannot stop eating it!!

I'm going to take your tip on freezing the extra wheat berries to put on other foods. BTW, I'm using hard white wheat berries which I've been told are good to use as long as they are soaked overnight. :)

Thanks for sharing this yummy recipe!

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