Wheat Berry Salad with Corn, Asparagus, Tomatoes and Pesto Vinaigrette
End-of-summer salad utilizing what's still available in the market; fresh ripe tomatoes, sweet corn, and tender asparagus along with cooked wheat berries.
Prep Time2 hourshrs
Cook Time2 hourshrs
Total Time2 hourshrs
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Keyword: salad, healthy
Servings: 6cups
Ingredients
2/3cupsuncooked hard red wheat berries
2ears corn
1/2lbasparagus
1cupdiced tomato
4Tbsppesto vinaigrette
kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
Cook the wheat berries either in a rice cooker (best if it has a brown rice setting which cooks a bit longer) or with the traditional method on the stove top. If cooking in a pot, soak the wheat for 8-12 hours in cold water. Drain, and add to a medium sized pot. Cover with water and bring to a simmer. Cook for 45 minutes to an hour or until tender. Drain and spread out on a sheet pan to cool. If cooking in a rice cooker, when done, spread on a sheet pan to cool.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Fill a large bowl with water and ice. Blanch the corn in the water for about 5 minutes and shock in the ice water to chill and stop the cooking. In the same pot of water, drop in the asparagus and blanch for 2-4 minutes until tender (depending on the size of the asparagus). Shock the asparagus in the ice water.
Cut the corn off the cob. Cut the asparagus into 2" lengths on the diagonal. Dice the tomato.
Mix the pesto vinaigrette. The recipe can be found here: pesto vinaigrette
In a large bowl, combine the cooked wheat berries with the vegetables and dress with the vinaigrette. Add salt and pepper to taste.