L. is a still growing teen with seemingly hollow legs and, as well as his protein and veggies, needs substantial portions of carbs or grains with each meal to keep him ticking and to minimize dreaded sugary-cereal-twenty-minutes-after-dinner incidents. I find rice, pasta, potatoes and couscous - no matter how many variations I make - somewhat monotonous these days so introduced wheat berries this year, which he seems to really like. They are filling, and tasty, and a good source of both fiber and iron, so what's not to like?
Contrary to a lot of grains, these don't seem to multiply into vast quantities no matter how little you originally cook, hence what might seem like a lot of wheat berries for 4 people.
2 cups wheat berries
4 cups chopped winter greens of your choice, stems and ribs removed
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
6 cups water
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter (use additional olive oil instead of butter if a non dairy vegetarian)
Salt
Salt the water as you would pasta water and bring it to a boil in a large stock pot.
As soon as it boils, stir in the wheat berries, lower the heat to medium and cover the pan. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring at the half way mark.
After 30 minutes, stir in the greens, cover again and allow to cook for an additional 15 minutes. Add more water if the wheat berries are getting dry. This will depend on the pan you use and the age and absorbing powers of the wheat berries.
After the 15 minutes are up, taste the wheat berries. They should be firm but yielding, with no hard center. Remove from the heat, of cook them for an additional 15 minutes more if they feel hard rather than firm when you bite into one.
Drain the wheat berries. Set aside.
Using the same pan that you used to cook the wheat berries, melt the butter in the oil over medium heat.
Add the shallot and the garlic and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly. until the shallot pieces are soft and translucent. Add the wheat berry and green mixture back into the pan and stir until each wheat berry has a slick of oily shine on it.
I served this with grilled swordfish with a Meyer Lemon and Herb Sauce but think that this would be delicious with a roast chicken where it could soak up all of the yummy juices, with stews of any kind or as part of a dinner salad, tossed with a hearty vinaigrette while the wheat berries were still warm.
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