Mediterranean Grain Salad

For those with gardens it is a bumper time to cook easy, fast and healthy recipes that consume lots of fresh veggies. I used this recipe in my wedding since it produces a ton of food and many of the veggies can be switched out based upon what you have available.

Mediterranean Grain Salad
Ingredients:
1 pepper
1 eggplant or beet
 2 tomatoes large heriloom
 2 squash or zucchini
1 onion prefer white
 1 cup of dried wheat berries
4 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
2 tablespoons fresh oregano
2 tablespoons fresh basil
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
1 bunch of collards or kale
olive oil spray
salt to taste
​pepper to taste
Dressing:
1/8 cup lemon juice
1/8 cup olive oil
1/8 cup bragg's
1/8 cup red wine vinegar

Steps
1. Soak wheat berries overnight in warm water. You can either sprout them by soaking them and rinsing them 2 times per day for 3 days or cook them gently for 10 minutes after soaking for 24 hours then leave on stove covered so them can soak up the excess water. They should be soft and chewy when done. Drain prior to adding to the salad so the mixture is not too wet.

2. Roast veggies by chopping them into bite size pieces and spray lightly with olive oil and sprinkling with salt and pepper. The cloves can be cooked whole and peeled when finished. I recommend an oven setting of 350 for about 15 minutes and placing the collard in for the last 5 minutes inn order to not overcook them. Shut the oven off but the veggies will continue to cook as you prepare the rest of the salad. 

3. Chop and prepare the fresh herbs.

4. Mix the dressing ingredients.

5. Combine when all the ingredients are cooled since it make the raw herbs taste better. 

Note - you can swap out different veggies or herbs based upon the season to make the freshest salad. For those that are gluten intolerant you can switch to rice instead of wheat berries. I added a soft cashmere cheese from Haystack farms to my salad for an excellent pairing.