I improvised a dinner with wheat berries and veg. Tina asked what I was making and I said “Wheat Berry Surprise”! This starts with Mark Bittman’s Cooking Grains, The Easy Way then I threw in more tasty stuff.

I used wheat berries (whole wheat kernels), but you can use any grain you prefer. Likewise, the greens could be chard, dandelion greens, turnip greens, etc. Most greens will cook more quickly than the lacinato kale. I tossed in some chickpeas for protein.

Ingredients

• 1 cup wheat berries
• 4 cups broth or water (I used chicken broth)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (approx.)
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 carrots, diced
• 3 stalks celery, sliced thin
• celery leaves, chopped
• 1 bunch lacinato (dinosaur) kale, chard, or other greens, cut into ribbons
• 1 can chickpeas, drained
• 1 bay leaf
• several sprigs fresh thyme
• 1+ teaspoon salt (omit or reduce if using salted broth)
• a few grinds of black pepper

Preparation

Put the wheat berries, thyme, bay leaf, and broth (or salted water) in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30-40 minutes or so. The wheat berries will be softened but chewy when done. See Bittman’s recipe for details.

While the grains are cooking, cut up the onions, carrots, and celery. The carrots should be diced small enough that they will cook while being sauteéd. I always add the leaves from the celery bunch because I like a bit of extra celery flavor.

Wash the greens. I find it easier to wash lacinato kale after it is cut. Strip the leaves from the stems, cut across the leaves, then put the ribbons in a salad spinner. Fill it with water, agitate the leaves, dump, do that again, then spin dry.

In a medium-sized pot (3 qts?), heat the olive oil, then sauteé the mirepoix (onions, carrots, celery ribs and leaves) until soft, about 10 minutes. Grind some pepper into the mix toward the end. Add some salt, if you want. If the wheat berries aren’t done, turn off the heat and cover.

When the wheat berries are done, remove the thyme twigs and bay leaf, then drain.

Turn the heat up on the pot with the mirepoix. Add the chickpeas and stir. Put about 1/4 cup of water in, then layer the kale on the onions and carrots, then dump the wheat berries on top of everything. Cover. The kale will cook with the steam from the water and the heat from the wheat berries on top.

After about 5 minutes, check the kale for doneness. It should still be a little chewy.

When the kale is cooked to your satisfaction, stir everything together and serve.

Technique

Stripping kale and chard off the stems with a knife is slow and fussy. Every time I did it, I thought that professionals must do it some other way, because this was taking way too much effort and time. Then I read about this fast technique in Samin Nosrat’s book Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat (see page 232).

You strip the stem out with your hands. Lay the leaf down on a cutting board, put two fingers astraddle the stem at the base of the leaf, then grab the bottom of the stem and pull up and out. The stem will come out and the leaves will be ripped off. Bits may stick to the stem or the stem might break, so tear off any remaining bits until you are satisfied. Stack the leaves at the back of the cutting board and they’ll be ready to chop.

Notes and Variations

Salt is a personal taste. Like beans, wheat berries can be tasty with a bit more salt. The broth I used has 530 mg of sodium per cup, which is about 1 teaspoon of table salt in 4 cups. To be precise, Pacific Foods Organic Free Range Chicken Broth has 2130 mg of sodium in 4 cups. Table salt has 2325 mg in 1 teaspoon. Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt, what I use, has 1120 mg of sodium in 1 teaspoon. So, take my recommendations with a grain of salt and trust your own taste buds.

Use vegetable stock to make this vegan.

Add pancetta (reduce or omit the salt). Get four ounces cut into small cubes (about 1/4 inch). Instead of olive oil, brown the pancetta slowly to render the fat. When it is done, remove with a slotted spoon and put in with the wheat berries. Continue with the recipe, sauteéing the mirepoix in the rendered fat. If there isn’t enough, add a little olive oil.