Chard & Spelt Berry Salad

Spelt berries-- a high-protein whole grain--provide the base for this delicious lunch salad. Add a simple dressing, some blanched greens, and some fun toppings (steamed eggs, cheese, nuts, chicken, veggies) and enjoy!

 1 cup spelt berries, soaked overnight
 Juice from half a lemon
 2 tsp honey
 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
 Olive or sunflower oil (to taste)
 pinch of salt
 2-3 eggs (optional)
 1/2 bunch of chard (or other green, like kale)
 3 carrots, scrubbed and/or peeled and then grated finely
 1-2 green onions, minced
 1/3 cup raisins (optional)
 1/4 sunflower (or other) seeds (optional)
 Garnish: fresh minced parsley, finely chopped strawberries, feta or goat's cheese

1

If you haven't already, soak your spelt berries for a few hours or overnight if possible. Drain and rinse well. Add 3 cups of fresh water, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Taste after 45 minutes-- they should be chewy with a little bite left. Drain any excess water.

2

Mix up your vinaigrette: add the juice from half a lemon, the 2 tsp honey, 2 tsp apple cider vinegar to a bowl. Set the bowl at an angle by propping it up on a kitchen rag. Use your other two hands to slowly drizzle in about 1/4-1/3 cup oil while whisking. Taste, add your pinch of salt, and more oil if needed. Set aside.

3

If you'll be adding eggs to your salad, bring 1.5 - 2 inches of water to a boil in a pot with a lid. When boiling, add in the eggs and cover. The eggs should not be totally submerged: it's the steam that cooks them (which stays at a constant temperature), not the water (which drops in temperature when you add cold eggs.) If they're bouncing around a lot, reduce the heat slightly. Cook for 7 minutes and then remove with a slotted spoon and run under icy cold water to stop the cooking.

4

Bring a pot of water to a boil for the chard. Stack up the leaves and cut out the center rib and mince them finely. Then roll up the leaves and chop into ribbons. Once the water is boiling, drop in the minced chard stems and about 10-15 seconds later, add the leaves. Count to 30, and then remove from heat and drain. (If you're using kale instead of chard, discard the tough center ribs and just blanch the leaves.)

5

Add the warm chard leaves to the drained spelt berries and toss with the dressing. Grate in the carrots, the green onions, the raisins and the seeds. Add a pinch of salt.

6

If you're using eggs, serve the salad with the eggs on top cut in half. Add any garnishes you like and enjoy your beautiful vegetarian salad!

Ingredients

 1 cup spelt berries, soaked overnight
 Juice from half a lemon
 2 tsp honey
 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
 Olive or sunflower oil (to taste)
 pinch of salt
 2-3 eggs (optional)
 1/2 bunch of chard (or other green, like kale)
 3 carrots, scrubbed and/or peeled and then grated finely
 1-2 green onions, minced
 1/3 cup raisins (optional)
 1/4 sunflower (or other) seeds (optional)
 Garnish: fresh minced parsley, finely chopped strawberries, feta or goat's cheese

Directions

1

If you haven't already, soak your spelt berries for a few hours or overnight if possible. Drain and rinse well. Add 3 cups of fresh water, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Taste after 45 minutes-- they should be chewy with a little bite left. Drain any excess water.

2

Mix up your vinaigrette: add the juice from half a lemon, the 2 tsp honey, 2 tsp apple cider vinegar to a bowl. Set the bowl at an angle by propping it up on a kitchen rag. Use your other two hands to slowly drizzle in about 1/4-1/3 cup oil while whisking. Taste, add your pinch of salt, and more oil if needed. Set aside.

3

If you'll be adding eggs to your salad, bring 1.5 - 2 inches of water to a boil in a pot with a lid. When boiling, add in the eggs and cover. The eggs should not be totally submerged: it's the steam that cooks them (which stays at a constant temperature), not the water (which drops in temperature when you add cold eggs.) If they're bouncing around a lot, reduce the heat slightly. Cook for 7 minutes and then remove with a slotted spoon and run under icy cold water to stop the cooking.

4

Bring a pot of water to a boil for the chard. Stack up the leaves and cut out the center rib and mince them finely. Then roll up the leaves and chop into ribbons. Once the water is boiling, drop in the minced chard stems and about 10-15 seconds later, add the leaves. Count to 30, and then remove from heat and drain. (If you're using kale instead of chard, discard the tough center ribs and just blanch the leaves.)

5

Add the warm chard leaves to the drained spelt berries and toss with the dressing. Grate in the carrots, the green onions, the raisins and the seeds. Add a pinch of salt.

6

If you're using eggs, serve the salad with the eggs on top cut in half. Add any garnishes you like and enjoy your beautiful vegetarian salad!

Chard & Spelt Berry Salad

2 Comments

  1. Heather on June 3, 2016 at 11:37 pm

    I made this for dinner tonight and it was a hit. My daughter even asked for seconds!

  2. Torrey on July 17, 2017 at 10:51 am

    This was delicious, even without the green onions (which I forgot to buy), and soaking the spelt berries for just a few hours instead of overnight.

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