Wheat Berry Salad with Citrus, Garbanzos, Toasted Pine Nuts, Feta and Spinach

So, another wheat berry recipe. I can't help it, I really like them! And, at last week's pick-up I noticed the trade box was pretty full of these guys, so I'm assuming CSA peeps are a little unsure on how to cook and eat these delicious morsels. I made a delightful salad the other day and I wanted to share it with all you lovely readers.

Anyway, this is a recipe I modified from Heidi Swanson's cookbook Super Natural Cooking. I added chickpeas for some more protein, subbed I'itoi onion for the shallot, added garlic, and added some chopped sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil for some color and taste. I also chopped up half an avocado on top because I love avocado on most food, especially salads. The citrus dressing was okay. Her recipe didn't call for white wine vinegar, but it needed a little kick. She had called for some lemon juice in the dressing, but I didn't have one. This salad would probably be great with any simple vinaigrette you had lying around the house.

1 1/2 c. cooked wheat berries

1 c. cooked garbanzo beans (white beans might be nice too)

Citrus Dressing

Grated zest and juice of 1 orange (maybe use grapefruit for an interesting twist)

couple tablespoons of white wine vinegar

1 I'itoi onion, chopped

1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil

1 clove chopped garlic

salt and pepper

3 handfuls spinach

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

sun dried tomatoes, chopped

avocado, chopped

You need to soak wheat berries overnight and cook them for about 90 min. to get them soft enough to eat. I used dried garbanzos, which also need to soak and cook for about 2 hours. You could use canned if you like. I ate the salad with warm wheat berries and beans, but it would be good cold as well. Mix up the dressing. Then, combine the dressing with the wheat berries, beans and the rest of the ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste.

In hindsight, I had leftovers and probably would have put the dressing on individually so it wouldn't get soggy in the fridge. These would feed about 3-4 as a main dish for lunch.