My Food Geek

I am not aware of having ever previously eaten a wheat berry before this last week, despite a past that includes 10 years of vegetarian eating and an interest in healthy grains. The April issue of EatingWell® Magazine had a very nice piece about wheat berries with a number of recipes. Since the foodie and I are experimental types when it comes to food, we decided to try them out. We headed over to the Henry’s in University City where we were happy to discover that they are quite affordable, at around 50 cents a pound that day. Henry’s is one of our favorite haunts for extra produce (when we need something in addition to our CSA bounty) and bulk ingredients, so we were disturbed to hear of its parent company’s recent buy out by Whole Foods. I truly hope they will leave a good thing alone!

Wheat berries are very hearty, with a chewy texture, and a slightly nutty flavor. They turn out to be delicious in a salad with a citrus vinaigrette as well as a wonderful addition to chili. The foodie whipped up the following delectable chili based on the EatingWell® recipe, and I ate it up voraciously (as is frequently the case with his yummy cooking!). I hope to be seeing more of these little grains very soon.

Wheat Berry Chili with Black Beans
Adapted from EatingWell® Magazine, April 2007

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp chili powder
1½ tsp ground cumin
1 tsp oregano
1½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground pepper
4 cups black beans
4 cups diced tomatoes
1-2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced
2 cups vegetable broth
2 tsp brown sugar
2 cups wheat berries
Avocado for garnish
cooked rice to serve chili over

Cooking wheat berries:

After sorting through 2 cups of uncooked wheat berries and removing any stones, rinse well under cool running water, and place in a large pot with 7 cups of water and 1 tsp salt.

Bring wheat berries to a boil over high heat, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Drain and rinse.

Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat. Sauté onions, garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, ½ tsp salt and pepper until onions are translucent.

Add beans, tomatoes, chipotle pepper, broth, and brown sugar, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes.

Stir in two cups of the cooked wheat berries and cook for another 5 minutes.

Serve over rice and garnish with diced avocado.