Spelt - I think I got it!

I got a bag of spelt berries with our CSA months ago, but never really did anything with them that tasted good. Every so often, I'd get the bag out, stare at it, then put it back in the cupboard, right between the quinoa and the rice. Rice, I understand. I can cook rice all day. Quinoa, same thing. We're easy friends. Spelt berries just didn't seem co-operative or friendly.

Over the past few weeks though, I've spent some quality time with my spelt berries, and I've come to understand them. They just need a little attention, a little time, and a little gentle cajoling before they give in and blossom into nutty, chewy grains full of protein, fiber, B vitamins, and iron.  All that AND they are delicious? Spelt berries - I look forward to a long and tasty friendship with you!

Spelt is a grain. It's related to wheat, but I found that when I treated it like a bean for cooking purposes, it ended up with my favorite texture. Chewy, but not too hard. I soaked the dried berries in stock overnight, drained them, the simmered them in stock flavored with some generally all around pleasing herbs and spices, like garlic, onion, and pepper. You can probably soak them for a shorter time than overnight - me? I stuck the bowl of berries and stock in the fridge before I went to bed last night and just hoped for the best!

I simmered the berries for about an hour, checking them every so often to catch them while they were soft and chewy but not completely falling apart.

While they were cooking, I chopped up a bunch of vegetables - green, red, and Anaheim peppers, carrots, onion, cucumber, kale leaves, and parsley. Once the spelt berries were the texture I wanted, I drained them and swished them under a little cool water to cool them off. I mixed the berries and all the vegetables together, tossed in a simple dressing, and ended up with an easy, tasty salad.

I wish I could give you exact measurements for ingredients. I based this salad solely on what it looked like. Did it look "too green"? More carrot. Not enough red? Bring on more red pepper. And, I didn't add the tomatoes until I was ready to eat it. I don't like how chopped up tomatoes get when they sit in a salad too long, but that's just me.

The dressing is all "to taste" - olive oil, lemon juice, tamari, chopped up garlic, chives and rosemary from the garden, salt and pepper is here, too.

Spelt and me, we'll be hanging out more for sure!