When the weather starts to warm and we start thinking about what to eat with the lovely greens and herbs that are just starting to take off, we turn to a farm favorite: a chilled wheat berry salad. It’s acid bright and sweet and cold and is just the thing to get us geared up for the hot days to come.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Ingredients

1 cup dry wheat berries, sorted and rinsed
8 cups water, divided
2 cups shredded carrots
2 TBSP chopped chives
2 TBSP chopped lovage and/or parsley
¼ cup good olive oil
¼ cup vinegar or lemon juice
1 TBSP honey
 

Directions

Cook the wheat berries first: in a sauce pot, bring the sorted and rinsed wheat berries with 3-4 cups cold water to a boil, then cover and remove from heat. Let sit for 1 hour. Drain the wheat berries, put back into the pot with 3-4 cups fresh cold water and simmer for 20 minutes, or until desired texture is reached. (If using a pressure cooker to cook wheat berries, follow the instructions on your device.)

Drain and rinse the cooked wheat berries.

Combine the dressing ingredients (oil, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper) and toss well with the wheat berries. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes to an hour. After the wheat berries are chilled, add the carrots and chopped herbs and combine. Adjust seasoning to taste.