This recipe comes from my new book, Strong Women Eat Well (written with Judy Knipe and to be released in August). It introduced me to wheatberries and has already become a staple in our house. It's easy to make and my husband loves it. I like this pilaf best made with soft wheatberries, which cook up to a beautiful pale color and a tender but crunchy texture. The dish is delicious served by itself, but I also love it for breakfast topped with some yogurt or as an accompaniment to meats, fish and poultry. Makes 3 1/2 to 4 cups.

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Ingredients

1 cup summer (soft) white wheatberries

1 orange

1/2 cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup dried (unsulfured) apricots, cut into thin slivers

6 tablespoons pine nuts

4 teaspoons honey

salt to taste

There are two ways to prepare wheatberries. Soak the wheatberries overnight in water (covering by an inch) or you can place them in a heavy medium size saucepan, add water to cover by at least an inch, and bring to a boil. Cover the pan, turn off the heat, and let the berries sit for two hours. Once the wheatberries are soaked, drain the berries, return to the pan, and again cover with at least an inch of fresh water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer the berries covered for about 30 minutes, or until the grain is cooked but still crunchy. Add salt to taste 10 minutes before the grain is done. Drain the wheatberries and transfer to a bowl. You will have a generous 2 1/2 cups.

Remove the zest from the orange in long strips, using a vegetable peeler. Cut 8 or 9 strips of it into very thin slivers, then cut the slivers into tiny dice. Add to the wheatberries with the cranberries, apricots, and pine nuts. Squeeze the 4 tbsp of juice from the orange into a small bowl and whisk with the honey and add to the pilaf. Mix well and taste for salt, which, added in very small amounts, brings out the flavor of the fruit.

Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold.

Nutritional information per serving (½ cup):

182 calories
4.2 g total fat
0.5 g saturated fat

34 g carbohydrate
3.7 g protein
5 g fiber

Portions:
2 Grain, 1/2 Protein