Recipe: Lentil and Wheat Berry Salad

LENTIL AND WHEAT BERRY SALAD

1 cup wheat berries
2 cups water
1/2 cup lentils (this was all i had on hand - more would be better)
1 cup water
Assorted vegetables*
Herbs
Fatfree dressing

Put wheat berries and 2 cups water in a saucepan, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes to 1 hour, until berries are tender, but still chewy (not mushy).

Sort lentils, removing any deformed ones and any stones that may be mixed in. Rinse a couple of times, then put them in saucepan with 1 cup of water, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer about 30 minutes, again, so they are done but not mushy.

When both lentils and wheat berries are done, drain any excess water, put into large bowl and chill while you cut up vegetables.

For a dressing I used some 7-Seas fatfree red wine vinegar dressing - just enough to coat everything, but not so much that it was swimming in dressing. The bits of red pepper in the dressing also added a little more color to the salad.

Toss everything together well and chill (if you have time; I only chilled it about 15 minutes last night, but the veggies were all cold when I added them and the frozen peas helped out, too).

I served this with a crusty sourdough bread. It made 3 servings. (Two for us last night, with enough left for my lunch today.)

*Vegetables can vary according to what you have on hand. I used: Yellow summer squash
Green bell pepper
Sweet onion
Peas (I used frozen peas, straight from the bag - they helped chill the lentils and wheatberries while thawing)
Mushrooms
Parsley (1 to 2 Tbsp chopped fresh)
Basil (1 Tbsp chopped fresh)
(I would have added some chopped tomato, but we were out.)

Source: Jennifer Herl, 1994