Wheat Berry, Baby Kale, Grape, and Orange Salad

Baby kale is mild and convenient to use because the whole leaf is edible. If you can’t find it, you can substitute full-size kale by removing the stem and slicing the leaf very thinly: 1⁄4 inches wide and not longer than 2 inches. The wheat berries take a full hour to cook, and another 20 minutes or so to cool, but they can easily be cooked a day ahead of time. Recipe contributed by Myra Goodman and Marea Goodman, from Straight from the Earth* © 2014. Photo by Sara Remington. Reprinted by permission of Chronicle Books.

Serves: 8

Wheat Berries

• 2 cups wheat berries
• 1 teaspoon salt

Curry-Orange Vinaigrette

• ⅔ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup golden balsamic vinegar
• Zest of 1 orange
• 2 tablespoon fresh orange juice
• 2 teaspoon agave nectar
• 1 ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¾ teaspoon curry powder
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• Pinch of ground ginger
• Freshly ground black pepper

Salad

• 5 ounces baby kale
• 1 cup seedless red grapes, halved
• 1 cup seedless green grapes, halved
• 2 oranges, segmented
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup, unsalted walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

To make the wheat berries:
Rinse them and then put them in a medium pot with 6 cups water and the salt. Bring them to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer. Cook, covered, for 1 hour, until the wheat berries are just tender. Add a few cups of cold water to the pot, stir, and then strain. Place the wheat berries in a very large bowl to cool, stirring occasionally to help them along.

To make the vinaigrette:
Combine the oil, vinegar, zest, juice, agave, mustard, salt, curry powder, cayenne, ginger, and pepper in a small jar. Seal the lid tightly and shake vigorously to combine. Set aside at room temperature.

To make the salad:
Combine the cooled wheat berries with the kale in a large bowl. Toss with ½ cup of the dressing. Add the grapes and orange segments and another ¼ cup of the dressing and toss again. Add more dressing if desired, and season with salt and pepper. Toss in the walnuts right before serving.

• Here are more of VegKitchen’s Main Dish Salads.

*This post contains affiliate links. If the product is purchased by linking through this review, VegKitchen receives a modest commission, which helps maintain our site and helps it to continue growing!