Savory Kucia - Wheat Berry Salad - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 cup wheat berries
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
1 large sweet-tart apple, cored and chopped
1/2 1/2 cup raisins or 1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon poppy seed
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar or 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
fresh ground pepper, to taste

Preparation

Rinse and drain the wheat berries. Place them in a medium bowl, cover with water and soak overnight.
Drain the wheat berries, place in a medium saucepan, add 3 cups water and cook until the berries are soft and the water is pretty much absorbed, about 1 hour. If the berries are tender, you can just drain any excess water. (I have been doing this in the rice cooker - it takes two cycles in my machine, but I don't have to worry about the pot boiling dry).
Cover the chopped onion with hot water for two or three minutes, and drain. (This reduces a bit of the bite. Your onion may be sweet enough to skip this step).
Place the cooked wheat in a large bowl and toss with the onion, apple, berries, poppy seeds and walnuts.
Add some freshly grated black pepper.
Whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, honey and salt. Pour over the salad and toss to combine.
Let stand at least four hours or so, preferably overnight, to permit the flavors to meld.
Serve at room temperature.
Note: The vinegar keeps the apple from discoloring, but you may prefer to add the apple just before serving. The heat and moisture of the cooked wheatberries will soften the dried berries, no need to presoak. If using dried cherries, you may want to cut them in half. I tend to use less salt than many, so you may want to adjust that to your own taste.