Wheat Berry & Chickpea Salad with Spinach, Apples and Feta
Is it weird that I get more excited about winter salads than the summer ones? I love hardy salads that give my jaw a workout. (At least part of me is working out, right?) Every winter I vow to keep a grainy, beany salad in my fridge to prevent myself from living on bagels and raisin toast (a hazard/benefit of having my office in the spare bedroom), and in fact, these kinds of salads actually improve after a few days in the fridge. Also- feeling virtuous over lunch is enough to keep me feeling more or less on the ball during the afternoon, sometimes propelling me out to do a power walk. Eating healthy things begets eating healthy things (and doing healthy things). I even organized my office this weekend, which was a monumental task. I blame the salads.
I love adding chopped apples to salads – not only are they always around, they add sweetness, tartness and crunch to just about any salad, from spring mix to slaw, and vinaigrettes keep them from turning brown. And so because it’s apple month, let this serve as a reminder that apples make all salads better. (A few weeks ago I made a wilted spinach salad with bacon, apples and a mustardy cider vinaigrette – and sorry I didn’t share, but go try that combo.) Use any variety you like, but I prefer those with more character – pink ladies, ambrosias, honeycrisps, sunrise if it’s early in the season and you can find them. Most often I default to galas – W’s favourite, always in the fruit bowl because he eats one sliced every night while reading books.
Wheat berries, if you haven’t had them, are chewy, nutty little whole grains you boil for a long time, until they get soft enough to chew. You can buy them in the bulk section of health food stores and often in bags alongside the rice and other grains in grocery stores. They’re cheap and will last a long time, and are very gratifying to pour into a vintage jar and stick on the shelf alongside your other pulses and grains. Feel free to swap barley, or cook quinoa however you like to do it, or use cold rice or couscous, or ditch the starch and add some finely shredded kale and Brussels sprouts.
Wheat Berry & Chickpea Salad with Spinach, Apples and Feta
AuthorJulie
Put the wheat berries into a medium saucepan and add enough water to cover them by a couple inches. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, or until they’re tender. Drain and set aside to cool.
?Put the wheat berries into a bowl with the spinach, chickpeas, celery, apple, parsley and feta. In a small bowl or jar, whisk or shake together the vinegar, oil, mustard and honey. Drizzle over the salad and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with almonds just before serving.
Serves 4-6.
Ingredients
Directions
Put the wheat berries into a medium saucepan and add enough water to cover them by a couple inches. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, or until they’re tender. Drain and set aside to cool.
?Put the wheat berries into a bowl with the spinach, chickpeas, celery, apple, parsley and feta. In a small bowl or jar, whisk or shake together the vinegar, oil, mustard and honey. Drizzle over the salad and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with almonds just before serving.
Serves 4-6.
Hi Julie!
I “just so happened” to have some wheat berries in my pantry, begging to be used. I bought them on a whim awhile back, not even sure what I would use them for. I was thrilled when I saw this recipe! This salad is SO good- like a meal on its own. Right at this moment (even as I am type), we are enjoying this salad, alongside your “pulled pork tacos” recipe (another one that has become a family favourite).
Keep ’em coming Julie! 🙂
YAY! I’m so glad to hear this! Yes, wheat berries are the sort of thing you pick up and then have in the back of your cupboard for years – you don’t see a lot of recipes that call for them!
Made it with farro…..loved it!
Stacey
Oooh.. good idea!!
Love this salad! I used empire apples but wonder if a Granny Smith or tarter apple would be good? What apples have you or others tried?
I made this and used kiwis instead of apples – I’m not a fan of waldorf salad because of the texture of apples but wanted the tart flavor plus I added some onion – I think it helps round out the flavor. We loved it! Even had some leftover yesterday and it was still good! This will be a favorite.
I do not see any apples in the recipe? How many? Thanks!
Yep, there’s one in there! I usually use a medium-large one!
Sorry… but i’ve read and reread this recipe intending to try it… and i don’t see any apple in it either! But hey, if you say so i’m an experienced enough cook that i see they would be logical to add. Maybe double check your recipe Julie!
Ha – crazy! It was linking to a different but similar recipe. I kept going and checking the recipe in the back end and the apple was in there.. it just wasn’t embedding the right one. Sorry! Fixed now!
Oh thank you so much Julie! I’ve had this up on my screen for days intending to make it. And read it often… so i was thinking i was losing my marbles! Hubby will have to do the chopping now, i broke my arm last week. Thank goodness left one. & After PI Day hahaha! Dang i’m gonna go into baking withdrawal! 🙁
Sorry about that! I thought I was losing mine, seeing the apples on the list in the back end! 🙂