Monday, April 7, 2014

springtime wheat berry salad


Sometimes the thing I miss most about Los Angeles are the sandwiches. A simple prosciutto and cheese on baguette from Larchmont Wine and Cheese, a pork belly banh mi from Mendocino Farms, or a G-dmother from Bay Cities. Josh was recently reading an article about the top 10 sandwiches in LA, and he didn't recognize a single one. Apparently sandwiches are being turned upside down in Los Angeles. It's a sandwich revolution. More reason to fly back and visit, I guess.

One of my favorite things to buy for lunch from my beloved sandwich shop, Mendocino, was actually not even a sandwich at all. Their wheat berry, fingerling potato, garbanzo bean, and asparagus salad was killer. If that salad was on the menu, I knew it was going to be a good day.

Try as I might, I've never been able to replicate that exact salad. But this version is a pretty good replacement, if I do say so myself. It makes me a little bit more chipper on some of these extra brisk Chicago days.


springtime wheat berry salad
(serves 2)

1/2 cup cooked wheat berries
1 lb. asparagus
1 can garbanzo beans
2 T chopped fresh dill
4 eggs

Dressing:
1/4 cup Whole Foods Caesar dressing
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 T dijon mustard
Salt, pepper

To hard boil the eggs: bring 1 inch of water up to a boil in a saucepan. Gently place eggs in pan and cover with lid. Let eggs steam for 10 minutes. Immediately run the eggs under cold water to stop the cooking. Peel the eggs and cut into quarters.

Chop and steam the asparagus until bright green and fork tender, about 3 minutes. Mix together the wheat berries, drained garbanzo bans, asparagus, and dill. Mix together the dressing ingredients and gently toss with the salad. Place the egg quarters a top of the salad.

A note on the dressing: my family has always been a supporter of using pre-made dressings as a great base. The Caesar is a perfect creamy starting point that I love to "doctor" up in different ways for different recipes.