Wheat Berry Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Peppers

There is a wonderful salad, originally from North African cuisine, called Mechouia salad (mashwiya). This salad has in it tomatoes, bell peppers and chili peppers, roasted until practically burned on the grill. It has the most wonderful and spicy flavors, which are enhanced with the (good!) taste coming from the vegetables’ charred peel. This wheat salad is based on it. This is a perfect recipe if you are having a BBQ. Simply pre-cook the wheat at home, and than toss the vegetables on the grill. If you want to make it at home, just bake the vegetables in the oven until perfectly roasted.

How to make?

Cooking the wheat berries –

The first part for the wheat salad is cooking the wheat berries. I used regular wheat, but you can also use farro (spelled wheat). Other good options are coarse bulgur (burghul) or freekeh. For a gluten-free version use rice, preferably whole. Firstly rinse the wheat well and drain the water. Some soak the wheat, from an hour to half a day, in plenty of water. This of course shortens the cooking time of the wheat, which is relatively long. The wheat is cooked in plenty of water, similar to pasta. About 45 minutes after boiling. When finished, strain off the excess water and allow the cooked wheat to cool.

Roasting the vegetables –

The next step is roasting the vegetables. Use ripe tomatoes, bell peppers and chili peppers (traditionally green chili). The amount of chili peppers depends on how much you want it hot. There are 3 ways to roast the vegetables: on a grill, on a griddle pan or in the oven. The vegetables are roasted until they are completely cooked and the peel is burnt, even very burnt. If preparing on the grill or in a griddle pan then turn the vegetables from side to side every few minutes until the vegetables are nicely burnt on all sides. In the oven there is no need to turn because the heat is received from all sides. The tomatoes and chili peppers will be ready before the bell peppers so remove them from the heat before or add them later. After finished, transfer the vegetables to a bowl and let them cool slightly.

After the vegetables have cooled, you can use a kitchen towel or clean hands to roughly peel off parts of the peel. However, make sure to leave some of the burnt peel. It adds the burnt taste we’re looking for. Transfer the vegetables to a cutting board and chop them coarsely together.

The last step is assembling the wheat salad. In a large mixing bowl, place the cooked wheat berries and top it with the roasted tomatoes and peppers. Don’t forget to add all the juices of the vegetables left on the board, they have so much flavor in them. Add 4-5 cloves of crushed garlic and chopped parsley. Season with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Stir gently until all the wheat is covered in the wonderful juices. Enjoy.

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Print Recipe

Wheat Berry Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Peppers

Prep Time1

Cook Time20

Total Time1 20

Course: Salad, Side Dish

serves: 6

Ingredients:

1 cup wheat berries, well washed and drained
4-5 ripe tomatoes, medium size
2 bell peppers
1-2 chili peppers (traditionally green) , use more or less depending on how spicy you prefer
½ cup parsely, chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic, chopped or crushed
3 tablespoons olive oil
juice from half a lemon (2-3 tablespoons)
½ teaspoon salt, or more to taste + a teaspoon of salt for cooking the wheat
½ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions:

Cooking the wheat berries – place the wheat berries in a pot with plenty of water and a teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil and continue to cook over a medium heat until the wheat is ready, about 45 minutes. If during cooking the water evaporates – add more boiling water. At the end of cooking, drain the wheat from the excess water and allow to cool. If you choose to soak the wheat before cooking, the cooking time will be shorter (see notes at the end of the recipe).
Cooking and charring the vegetables – can be done on the grill, in a griddle pan or in the oven.
On the grill or in a griddle pan: make sure that the grill / griddle pan is very hot. Place the tomatoes, bell peppers and chili peppers on the grates/ pan and roast them well until the vegetables are tender and the peel is burnt. Rotate the vegetables every few minutes so that the burn is done on all sides. The tomatoes and chili will take about 15 minutes, the sweet peppers about 25 minutes in total. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
In the oven: preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Cut the bell peppers lengthwise in half and get rid of the sting and seeds. Place in a pan with the part of the peel facing up and bake in the oven for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, add the tomatoes and chili pepper to the pan and continue to bake for another 15 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before the next step.
Roughly peel off some of the vegetables' burnt peel using a clean kitchen towel / kitchen paper or just very clean hands. Make sure not to completely peel the vegetables and leave some of the burnt peel, it has lots of good flavors in it. Remove and discard the stings of the peppers, as well as the seeds. The seeds of the chili pepper can be left, keep in mind that they are spicy of course.
Transfer the charred vegetables to a cutting board and chop them coarsely. Keep all the wonderful fluids that come from the vegetables, they have plenty of flavors and we'll add it later to the salad.
In a large mixing bowl place the cooked wheat, burnt and chopped vegetables and all the juices drained from them. Add chopped parsley, crushed garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Stir gently until all the ingredients are evenly coated. Taste and add salt if necessary. Enjoy!

Notes:

Instead of wheat you can use farro (spelled wheat), freekeh or coarse bulgur. For a gluten-free version, you can use rice, preferably whole rice. Cooking time will vary accordingly.
Some people prefer to soak the wheat before cooking. Soaking wheat can be from a minimum of an hour to half a day. The cooking time of the wheat will vary accordingly, and can also be 25-30 minutes for wheat that has undergone long soaking.

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