PEAR WALNUT WHEAT BERRY SALAD

Pear Walnut Wheat Berry Salad image

This is a recipe I created using wheat berries which is a healthy alternative to rice. It's also easy to substitute different nuts or fruit depending on what you have on hand.

Provided by Tami Regan

Time 1h30m

Yield 6

Number Of Ingredients 13

Ingredients

7 cups water
2 cups wheat berries
½ cup chopped walnuts
½ cup canola oil
½ cup raspberry wine vinegar
½ cup raspberry preserves
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 firm pear, cored and diced
½ cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
½ cup dried cranberries
3 green onions, chopped

Steps:

Bring water and wheat berries to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the wheat berries are tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Drain any excess water and cool.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Spread walnuts onto a baking sheet.
Bake walnuts in the preheated oven until toasted and fragrant, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and cool.
Whisk canola oil, raspberry wine vinegar, raspberry preserves, mustard, oregano, and black pepper together in a bowl until vinaigrette is smooth. Measure 1/2 cup vinaigrette and store remaining vinaigrette in an airtight container in the refrigerator for another use.
Combine wheat berries, walnuts, pear, Gorgonzola cheese, cranberries, and green onions in a large bowl. Drizzle 1/2 cup vinaigrette over wheat berries mixture; toss to coat. Refrigerate for flavors to blend, about 30 minutes.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 622.5 calories, Carbohydrate 82 g, Cholesterol 15 mg, Fat 30.2 g, Fiber 10.3 g, Protein 12.9 g, SaturatedFat 4.7 g, Sodium 194.3 mg, Sugar 27.7 g