Wheat Berry and Chickpea Salad

The other night, we had one of my good friends for Ottawa over for dinner. Poor guy is stuck in Cambridge during the week living in a hotel.

I may have forced an experimental ice cream on him.

He only made a few faces.

That's one of the risks of eating chez nous. I tend to want to try things out.

One of the experiments that did work, however, was this wheat berry and chickpea salad.

Like most of my recipes, proportions are guidelines at best. You could add in zucchini, tons of additional herbs, some tomatoes, garlic... the list just goes on and on. And isn't that the best part about recipes anyway? The adaptability?

Wheat Berry and Chickpea Salad

Ingredients

1 cup wheat berries
1 19 oz can chickpeas
1 cup chopped parsley
½ cup finely minced onion (red would be pretty if you have it)
½ cup chopped parsley
1 roasted red pepper, chopped
2 tbsp sherry vinegar
1½ tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp capers, rinsed and coarsely chopped
2 oz crumbled feta (remove for a vegan option)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Bring 4 cups water and wheatberries to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 70 minutes, or until wheatberries are tender. Drain and rinse to stop cooking and place in a large bowl. Toss in remaining ingredients and let sit for at least 30 minutes to allow flavours to come together.

If you're not a fan of raw onion, soak the minced onion in some cold water for 10-15 minutes. This will draw out some of the sharpness and mellow them nicely.