How to make Wheat Berry Salad? (Perfect fro lunch or as a Side dish)

• Recipe: Wheat Berry Salad
• Writer: Lizzie Green
• Content-Type: Food Blog

This salad of wheat berries is flavored with savory and sweet autumnal flavors from roasted squash and shallots. Make it ahead of time for lunch or serve it as a side dish.

There isn’t a better way for me to kick off the week than by sharing this recipe for wheat berry salad with all of you! When it comes to recipes, I try not to have favorites, but this one is unique.

It’s one of those uncommon dishes that can truly accomplish everything. You can prepare it on a Sunday to use for weekday lunches or to offer as a side dish during your Thanksgiving meal. I believe you will like each bite whenever you eat it.

Even though wheat berries aren’t the most popular grain right now, after trying them here, you might start to question why you don’t cook with them more frequently. They have a delicious chewy texture and a sweet, nutty flavor.

They blend beautifully with the creamy roasted squash and seasonal herbs in this salad of wheat berries. An apple cider vinaigrette unites the flavors, and roasted shallots provide a rich, sweet, and savory flavor.

This wheat berry salad is the essence of autumn in a bowl: hearty, filling, and delectable. Wishing you the same level of enthusiasm.

Ingredients for Wheat Berry Salad Recipe

This recipe for wheat berry salad is loaded with wonderful autumnal ingredients:

• Wheat berries, naturally! Although their chewy texture and sweet, nutty flavor are great here, don’t panic if you can’t find them. If you’re gluten-free, wild rice or farro are suitable replacements.
• Winter squash: Although I specify butternut squash in this recipe, I substituted honeynut squash the day I took these pictures and it turned out just as well. whichever you choose, use it!
• I roast shallots in the same pan as the squash. They add a deep taste to the salad and are tender and caramelized.
• Fresh sage, parsley, and thyme are added after the sage is softened in the oven. They provide complexity, earthiness, and scent to the salad.
• The strong greens, and lacinato kale, go incredibly well with the roasted squash and nutty wheat berries.
• Walnuts: For added crunch!
• Cranberries that have been dried give a sweet/tart flavor and a chewy texture.
• Pecorino cheese is my favorite since it pairs so well with sweet cranberries and butternut squash.
• The apple cider vinaigrette, a straightforward 7-ingredient dressing, completes the salad.

While the wheat berries are simmering, roast the squash and shallots. After that, massage the kale and combine everything by whisking the components for the dressing.

Serving Ideas for Wheat Berry Salad

This hearty wheat berry salad doubles as a terrific lunch or light dinner thanks to the roasted squash and sturdy wheat berries.

I frequently serve it with a piece of focaccia or a chunk of crusty bread, or for added protein and crunch, I add a few roasted chickpeas. Serve it with a cup of soup for a fuller dinner. Any of the following soup recipes would be wonderful options:

• Pumpkin soup
• Butternut squash soup
• Cream of mushroom soup
• English Onion Soup
• Sup of Roasted Red Peppers
• A wild rice soup
• Cauliflower Soup with Cream

You might also offer this salad with wheat berries as a side dish. Thanksgiving supper included, would make a lovely complement to any fall meal. The entire salad can be made up to two days in advance. Just hold off on adding the cheese until the very last moment!

Wheat Berry Salad

Ingredients

• 3 cups cooked wheat berries
• Roasted butternut squash cubes, from 1 small squash
• 3 medium shallots, chopped into ½-inch pieces (1 cup)
• ⅓ cup fresh sage leaves
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• Apple Cider Vinegar Dressing
• 1 bunch lacinato kale, stemmed
• ⅓ cup toasted walnuts, chopped
• ⅓ cup dried cranberries
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
• ⅓ cup chopped parsley
• ⅓ cup shaved pecorino cheese
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. First cook the wheat berries.
2. Lay parchment paper over a sizable baking sheet and preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. For 30 to 35 minutes, roast the butternut squash. Roast the shallots for 20 to 25 minutes on the oven sheet alongside the squash. For the final two minutes of baking, wrap the sage leaves in foil and drizzle with olive oil. Cut the package open.
3. Make the apple cider vinegar dressing.
4. Mix some of the dressing with the greens in a big bowl. Toss in the wheat berries, squash, shallots, sage, walnuts, cranberries, parsley, thyme, and 12 tsp salt. Put on a dish and top with more dressing and freshly ground black pepper. Serve, then sprinkle the pecorino cheese over top.

Note

• You might use less sage if you don’t like it. We adore it and the way it brings out the salad’s autumnal flavors.