This recipe is for an individual portion. Last week, I cooked a pot of white beans and a pot of wheat berries to keep in the fridge so that I would have them on hand to make a variety of dishes. (See recent posts for instructions on how to cook beans.) One day, I made this salad for my lunch. Wheat berries are hearty, filling, and a good source of protein, as are white beans. This salad is a cinch to pull together, once you have the beans and wheat berries cooked. Hopefully, this will inspire you to combine beans and grains with whatever fruits, vegetables and fresh herbs you have on hand to make your own salad as a healthy lunch. Try to combine sweet and savory flavors, and use a variety of textures to make it interesting for your palate. With good quality balsamic vinegar and olive oil for your salad dressing, you don’t need to add much else for flavoring.
½ cup cooked wheat berries
½ cup cooked white beans
3-4 romaine lettuce leaves, broken into small pieces
1 radish, diced
a few strips of sweet peppers (orange, red or yellow), diced
4 dried apricots, chopped
1 TBS dried blueberries
2 TBS chopped cilantro
2 TBS chopped parsley
2 TBS chopped chives
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Dressing:
1 TBS balsamic vinegar
2 TBS extra virgin olive oil