Tepid Salad of wheat, green lentils and mushrooms in a balsamic reduction dressing.
Tepid is an unloved word but really this salad is best served at room temperature so that the wheat berries and lentils retain their flavour and balance the chunky pieces of mushroom with their sharp salty dressing.
Quantities are always a problem for the single diner, it would be uneconomic of me to suggest you cook 50g each of lentils and wheat for a personal sized portion and I have actually cooked 200g of each of these. The leftovers will be welcome for other meals.
The green lentils are simple, pick through in case of small stones (for the sake of your teeth), rinse well and cook gently in plenty of boiling water for 20-25 minutes. The wheat takes much longer and if I hadn't been in a hurry today I would have soaked it for 6 hours before putting it in the pot. Even without soaking recently harvested seeds should cook to a chewy softness in 40-45 minutes.
Slice your mushrooms thickly and fry in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil so that they become golden and succulent, then sprinkle in a shake of soy sauce and and a good grinding of black pepper. Deglaze the pan immediately with a tablespoon of cider vinegar, another of balsamic vinegar and a teaspoonful of sugar dissolved in it. When the liquid has reduced by half and become syrupy and thick remove the mushrooms and juice to a mixing bowl. Add sufficient drained lentils and wheat in equal quantities for your needs, mix everything together and allow to cool to room temperature.
Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary, I like this sharp and will usually add a little more vinegar. I would have added garlic but I'm going out tonight and don't want to deafen my peers.
Serve with green leaves, rocket is lovely, and a snip or two of chives or garlic greens over the top.
3 comments:
Are these wheatberries of which you speak widely available?
Should be, it's just wholegrain wheat. Paul brought me some over from our local wholefood store. If you can't find it substitute pearl barley which I'm reasonably sure can be found in the Co-op among other places and has the advantage of being quicker to cook. If you can get whole spelt you might enjoy that too.
I did look for wheatberries in the supermarket this evening, but no dice. Happily I have a jar of pearl barley that's been sitting around for a couple of years, so this makes an interesting thing to do with it this evening, and put on one side for tomorrwo.
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