Wheatberry Soup Recipes

WHEAT BERRY SOUP

Steps:

• Place the wheat berries in a large bowl. Cover with at least 6 cups cold water. Set aside to soak for at least 4 hours. Drain and place in a large non stick saucepan.
• Add the water or stock to the pan. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 1 hour. Add all the rest of the ingredients.
• Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 to 45 minutes or till the berries are tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

WHEATBERRY SOUP

Steps:

• Place navy beans in large bowl and wheat berries in a separate bowl.
• Bring 6 cups water to boil and pour half of water over beans and half over wheat berries.
• Set both aside for two hours.
• Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium heat.
• Add onion, leek, celery, carrot and garlic.
• Stir until soft and fragrant, about 8 minutes.
• Drain the beans and add them to the vegetables.
• Stir to coat.
• Add broth, boquet garni and bay leaf.
• Cover the saucepan, increase heat to medium high, and bring to a boil.
• Lover the heat to medium low and simmer until the beans have cooked, about an hour.
• Remove boquet garni and bay leaf, and transfer the soup to a food processor or blender.
• Blend in short pulses to make a chunky soup rather than a puree.
• Return the soup to the pan, Or use an immersion blender to process soup in pan.
• Drain the wheat berries and add them to the saucepan Bring soup to a boil again over medium high heat, cover and lower heat to medium low.
• Simmer until the wheat berries are tender, about 50 minutes.
• Stir often to keep the wheat berries from sticking to the pot, Just before serving, stir in the lemon juice, and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.

LENTIL SOUP WITH WHEAT BERRIES AND KALE

Steps:

• Pulse carrots, onion, and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped. Heat oil in a 6-quart stockpot or Dutch oven over medium, then add vegetables; season with 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper, stirring to coat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to look juicy, about 3 minutes. Partially cover with a lid, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are completely tender but have not taken on any color, 10-12 minutes.
• Add wheat berries, coriander, turmeric, and bay leaves and stir to combine. Cook until bottom of pot is just starting to brown, about 2 minutes. Add 10 cups water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Season with 1 1/2 tsp. salt, then reduce heat to medium-low and bring to a simmer. Cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until grains show signs of softening but are nowhere near done, about 15 minutes. Add lentils and kale and stir well to combine. Kale should be submerged; add another cup of water if needed. Partially cover pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until lentils and grains are tender and kale is very silky, 40-45 minutes more. Pluck out bay leaves. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed.
• Divide soup among bowls. Serve with Parmesan for sprinkling over and bread for dunking.

CHICKPEA, CANNELLINI BEAN, AND WHEATBERRY SOUP

Steps:

• Soak cannelini beans in warm water overnight (or approx 8 hours). In a separate container, soak chickpeas and wheatberries together with baking powder overnight (or approx 8 hours).
• Lighlty salt soaking water and cook cannelini beans and chickpea/wheatberry mixture separately until al dente.
• Drain both pots, but don't throw the chickpea/wheatberry cooking water out-you'll need it for later.
• Add Cannellini beans to chickpea/wheatberry mixture in a big pot. Put back 7 cups of the cooking water (or if you eyeballed the bean/pea/berry amounts like I did, just make sure it's covered enough to look like a soup and add fresh water if needed). Salt and pepper the water just a teeny bit. Cook all together until everything is tender. When served, drizzle soup with olive oil, herbs, and pepper to taste.

WINTER WHEAT SOUP

Steps:

• In a medium stockpot, bring the wheat berries and 13 cups (3.25 liters) water to a boil [for added flavor, replace some or all of the water with Garlic Broth ]. Lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 50 minutes, or until the wheat berries are almost cooked through, but not mushy.
• Stir in the carrot, parsnips, turnip, and leeks. Return to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Stir in the sweet potato and celery. Simmer for 10 more minutes.
• Stir in the celery leaves and salt. Simmer for 1 minute. Add the cilantro and simmer for 1 minute. Season with pepper.

OLD-SCHOOL BEAN SOUP WITH WHEAT BERRIES

Steps:

• Place ham bone in a slow cooker. Pour in enough water to cover. Cook on Low until you have a fragrant stock, 12 to 15 hours.
• Place navy beans, cranberry beans, and wheat berries in a large container and cover with several inches of cool water; let soak, 8 hours to overnight. Drain.
• Remove ham bone from stock. Add beans and wheat berries. Stir in celery salt, thyme, oregano, Worcestershire sauce, and black pepper. Cook on High until beans are tender yet firm to the bite, about 4 hours.
• Stir lentils into the slow cooker. Cook on High until tender, about 1 hour. Season with salt and black pepper. Serve soup topped with diced tomatoes, avocado, and green onions.