Yogurt Or Buttermilk Soup With Wheat Berries Recipes

CUCUMBER, YOGURT & WHEAT BERRY SOUP

Steps:

• Boil the wheat berries until tender and chewy, about 30 minutes if presoaked, or 50 minutes if not. Drain and set aside to cool.
• Put the chopped cucumber into a strainer and sprinkle with salt. Let sit for 20 minutes to drain excess water.
• Drop the spinach into a pot of boiling water, cook for 1 minute until bright green and wilted. Run under cold water and squeeze out excess water. Chop and set aside.
• Chop the garlic with a generous pinch of salt, until it becomes a paste. Add the toasted cumin seeds and continue to chop. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the yogurt and 1 cup of water, until smooth. Stir in the wheat berries, cucumber, lemon juice, and mint.
• Let chill for at least 2 hours and stir in the spinach right before eating.

ABDOOGH KHIAR (CHILLED BUTTERMILK CUCUMBER SOUP)

Steps:

• If using dried rose, crumble a few petals coarsely for garnish and set aside. Place the rest on a cutting board and chop as finely as possible.
• Place the buttermilk, yogurt and 1 teaspoon salt in a blender and blend until frothy, about 30 seconds, or whisk together in a large bowl until smooth and frothy. If you used a blender, pour the mixture into a large bowl. Add the cucumbers, raisins, walnuts, dill, chives, dried mint and 1/4 teaspoon of the finely chopped rose petals. Stir well to combine and season to taste with more salt. Cover and refrigerate to chill and allow the flavors to come to life, at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
• Just before serving, toast the lavash or bread until crisp but not burned, and break into pieces. Stir the soup to mix. It should be the consistency of a thin, runny soup. If it's too thick, thin it out with water or more buttermilk, 1 tablespoon at a time. Keep in mind that you will be adding ice cubes, which will also thin out the soup as they melt. Divide the soup among serving bowls and add the ice cubes. Garnish the top as creatively as you like with crumbled dried rose petals, cucumber, dried mint, dill sprigs, raisins, walnuts and fresh mint leaves. Add the bread pieces right before serving or serve on the side.

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.

YOGURT OR BUTTERMILK SOUP WITH TOASTED BARLEY

Steps:

• Heat a heavy, medium-size saucepan over medium-high heat, and add the barley. Stir or shake in the pan until it begins to smell toasty, about five minutes. Add the water and salt (to taste, about 1/2 teaspoon), and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer until tender, about 45 minutes. Remove from the heat, drain and set aside.
• While the barley is cooking, place the cucumber in a bowl and sprinkle with salt. Toss and place in a strainer set over the bowl. Allow to drain for 30 minutes. Rinse well and drain on paper towels.
• Combine all the ingredients except the mint. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill for one hour or longer. Serve, garnishing each bowl with the mint.

YOGURT OR BUTTERMILK SOUP WITH SPINACH AND GRAINS

Steps:

• Place the cucumber in a bowl and sprinkle with salt. Toss and place in a strainer set over the bowl. Allow to drain for 15 minutes. Rinse if desired and drain on paper towels.
• Meanwhile, steam the spinach above 1 inch of boiling water until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes, moving the leaves around with tongs once to ensure that they steam evenly. Rinse with cold water and squeeze out excess moisture. Chop medium-fine.
• Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Thin out with ice water if desired. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill for one hour or longer.

YOGURT SOUP WITH SPELT, CUCUMBERS AND WATERCRESS

Steps:

• Combine the spelt, water and salt to taste, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer about 50 minutes to an hour until tender and some of the kernels have begun to splay. Remove from the heat, drain and set aside.
• While the spelt is cooking, place the cucumber in a bowl and sprinkle with salt. Toss and place in a strainer set over the bowl. Allow to drain for 30 minutes. Rinse well, and drain on paper towels.
• Combine all the ingredients except the radishes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill for two hours or longer. Serve, garnishing each bowl with the sliced radishes.

GRAINS IN HERBY BUTTERMILK

Steps:

• Toast grains in a dry medium heavy pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until just slightly darkened and beginning to smell nutty, about 4 minutes. Pour in 4 cups water, then add onion, garlic, lemon zest, and a couple of big pinches of salt; stir to combine. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally and skimming any foam from surface as needed, until grains are tender (pull out a few grains and take a bite to test), 35-45 minutes; pluck out and discard onion, garlic, and lemon zest.
• Meanwhile, purée parsley, dill, buttermilk, and a big pinch of salt in a blender until bright green and smooth. Pour into a medium bowl, add yogurt, and whisk until your arm gets a bit tired-3 minutes should do the trick (whisking the mixture well will ensure that the yogurt doesn't split and get grainy when you add it to the grains).
• Pour buttermilk mixture over grains. Increase heat to medium and bring to a bare simmer. Cook just until heated through, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and squeeze in juice from lemon half. Stir well, then taste grains and season with more salt if needed. Skim any foam from surface.
• Ladle grains into bowls. Drizzle some oil into each bowl and top with coarsely ground pepper.

BREAKFAST WHEAT BERRIES

Steps:

• The night before, combine wheat berries, 1 quart of the water and salt and bring to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 1 hour. Remove from heat, stir in the honey, agave syrup or sugar, rose water, anise or fennel seeds, cinnamon, nutmeg and raisins or dried fruit. Cover and leave overnight (or for 5 to 6 hours).
• In the morning, add remaining cup of water to the wheat berries and bring to a simmer. Cook 30 to 45 minutes, stirring often, until berries are soft and splayed at one end. There should be some liquid surrounding the wheat berries (add more water if necessary). Taste and add more sweetener if desired.
• Serve on their own with some of the liquid in the saucepan (stir in some milk if desired), or spoon about 1/3 cup yogurt into bowls and top with a generous spoonful of the berries, with some of the sweet broth. Top with a handful of chopped nuts and a few pomegranate seeds if desired.

YOGURT OR BUTTERMILK SOUP WITH WHEAT BERRIES

Steps:

• Place the cucumber in a bowl and sprinkle with salt. Toss and place in a strainer set over the bowl. Allow to drain for 15 minutes. Rinse if desired and drain on paper towels.
• Combine all of the ingredients. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill for one hour or longer. Serve, garnishing each bowl with cilantro or mint leaves.