Hearty Winter Wheat Berry Salad
This delightful wheat berry salad delivers a festive vibe with its rich textures and substantial feel, ideal for chilly winter days. It combines fresh kale, vibrant radicchio, warm Medjool dates, crunchy candied walnuts, and a zesty apple cider vinaigrette dressing. Perfect as a nutritious option for holiday meals, this salad can also be prepared in advance and kept fresh in the refrigerator for several days.
As temperatures drop, my salad preferences shift toward warmer, more filling creations. This wheat berry salad exemplifies that shift, maintaining the colorful and refreshing qualities typical of salads while perfectly adapting to winter conditions.
The robust nature of this dish comes largely from the wheat berries. After cooking, these whole grains provide a satisfying chewiness and weight.
In addition, it includes hearty cruciferous greens like kale and chicory varieties such as radicchio. These leaves offer more body compared to delicate options like mesclun or butter lettuce.
To introduce crunch, sweetness, and balance against the slight bitterness of the greens, the recipe incorporates candied walnuts and warm, diced dates.
Few salads provide such a diverse mix of textures, temperatures, and flavors in one bowl.
While this dish shines in winter, there’s no strict rule— if you have wheat berries on hand and some kale ready, prepare it anytime.
What Are Wheat Berries?
If wheat berries are new to your kitchen repertoire, prepare for a revelation. They’ve long been among my top choices for grains, especially in grain-based salads.
Wheat berries resemble farro in many ways, though they have a rounder, chewier profile and require a bit more cooking time. Both are wheat-derived grains, which explains their similarities.
Essentially, wheat berries are the intact kernels of whole wheat. They can come from various wheat types. In the US market, most available for cooking are from hard red winter wheat, hard red spring wheat, or soft white wheat varieties.
Farro, by contrast, specifically denotes kernels from emmer wheat, an ancient strain favored in Mediterranean dishes, particularly Italian cooking.
Where to Find Wheat Berries
Wheat berries are commonly available in the bulk bins of health food stores and natural food markets. They can also be purchased through online retailers.
Recently, I’ve enjoyed using Hayden Mills White Sonora Berries, which cook faster than many other types and deliver excellent results.
Wheat Berry Cooking Time
Unlike rice, barley, or farro, which typically finish in 35-45 minutes, wheat berries require greater patience.
Plan to simmer them for 50-90 minutes until tender. Cooking duration varies by variety, but allocate at least an hour.
An overnight soak can reduce cooking to 45-50 minutes. If soaking, discard the water and use fresh for boiling.
A Seasonal Salad
Kale’s year-round availability makes it a staple, and its sturdy texture suits cold-weather salads beautifully.
I prefer Tuscan (lacinato) kale for this recipe, but curly kale works well when chopped.
Over recent years, I’ve developed a passion for chicories, incorporating endive, escarole, frisée, and radicchio into my winter side salads.
Radicchio stands out as my favorite chicory, adding a festive burgundy hue to this wheat berry salad.
The wheat berries provide substantial texture, enhanced further by crisp celery, dried fruits, and nuts.
My vegan candied walnuts use aquafaba for exceptional crispiness.
These nuts are crispy baked vegan candied walnuts, which elevate the dish. If short on time, plain toasted and chopped walnuts suffice, or substitute pecans, candied or not.
Lightly Seared Dates for Deeper Flavor
Pan-searing Medjool dates may seem unexpected for a salad, but the extra step pays off handsomely.
Start by searing with a touch of oil, which simplifies chopping and prevents sticking during mixing.
The primary benefit is intensified caramel notes. Just like sugar caramelizes with heat, so do these naturally sweet dates.
Cook for 4-6 minutes over medium-high heat in a frying pan, achieving light searing or sautéing.
The dates develop appealing browned edges and a subtle crispness, allowing them to stand up amid the salad’s bold components.
How to Prepare a Winter Wheat Berry Salad
Step 1: Cook the Wheat Berries
Begin by dedicating time to boil the wheat berries before assembling the salad.
Cooked wheat berries keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days or frozen for eight weeks, making advance prep straightforward.
At home, I boil them in a generous pot of salted water, similar to pasta. This method, which I detail in A Grain, a Green, a Bean, yields superior texture without precise ratios and avoids common pitfalls like mushiness or scorching.
Simmer for 50-90 minutes until tender but chewy.
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Step 2: Lightly Sear the Dates
Halve and pit the dates lengthwise, then gently flatten them. Heat olive or avocado oil in a small pan and add the dates.
Sear for about 3 minutes per side until caramelized, shiny, and warmed through.
Cool slightly, then roughly chop.
Step 3: Whisk Together the Vinaigrette
The dressing is a robust apple cider vinaigrette with tangy, garlicky flair that complements the grain salad perfectly.
Preparing it involves simple shaking or whisking.
Step 4: Mix
Combine wheat berries, greens, and chicories as the base.
Add candied or toasted chopped nuts and warm chopped dates for enhanced texture.
Use a spacious mixing bowl to toss everything evenly without spillage.
The completed salad bursts with vivid colors and varied textures. Before serving, taste and season accordingly.
I incorporate chopped green onion tops for added savoriness and a subtle kick. Adjust salt, pepper, and vinaigrette as desired.
Step 5: Serve
Plate the salad and savor it. A sprinkle of extra green onion tops adds a nice finish without overcomplicating.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
Storing Wheat Berry Salad
One standout quality of kale salads is their durability in the fridge over several days. This one improves in flavor as components meld.
If prepping ahead, keep candied walnuts separate and add just before serving to preserve crunch.
A Few Possible Variations
No kale? Opt for arugula, chopped baby spinach, thin collard ribbons, or escarole.
Swap radicchio with other chicories like red or white endive or frisée. Thinly sliced raw fennel introduces fresh crunch and taste.
While wheat berries are ideal, farro, short-grain brown rice (gluten-free), barley, or spelt berries work as alternatives.
These grains offer comparable fiber and protein benefits.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Yields: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups wheat berries (240g)
- 2 teaspoons olive or avocado oil
- 6 large Medjool dates
- 2 packed cups radicchio, cut into 1/2-inch / 1.3cm ribbons (1 small head radicchio)
- 2 packed cups Tuscan kale, stemmed and cut into 1/2-inch / 1.3cm ribbons (1 small bunch; substitute 2 cups/30g chopped curly kale)
- 3/4 cup finely diced celery (80g)
- 2/3 cup crispy baked vegan candied walnuts (substitute 2/3 cup / 70g walnut halves and pieces)
- 1/2 cup chopped green onion tops (40g)
- 1/2 cup tangy apple cider vinaigrette dressing (120ml, plus more as needed; substitute another favorite vinaigrette)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Add the wheat berries. Boil the wheat berries, like pasta, for an hour, or until they’re fully tender, yet still pleasantly chewy; the cooking time will depend on the wheat berries that you use. Drain the wheat berries thoroughly and allow them to cool enough to be room temperature. If you like, you can cook them up to 3 days before mixing the salad and store them in an airtight container in the fridge.
- Heat the avocado oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. Open the pitted dates so that the fruit appears to be in one large, flattened layer. Add the flattened dates to the frying pan. Simmer them in the oil for 4-6 minutes, flipping them once during cooking, so that both sides are lightly caramelized. Transfer them to a plate or cutting board and allow them to cool until they can be handled, then chop them roughly.
- Transfer the wheat berries, dates, radicchio, kale, celery, walnuts, and green onions to a large mixing bowl. Dress them with the vinaigrette. Taste the salad and adjust salt and pepper as needed; you can also add a little extra vinaigrette, if you like. Serve or store the salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
For me, the challenge and joy of winter cooking is to create color and brightness within a leaner, darker season.
This salad is so wonderfully celebratory and special. I hope that it’ll bring joy to your table and your plate!
