From the menu… The National, 232 W. Hancock Ave., Athens. 706-549-3450. thenationalrestaurant.com
Whenever I'm in Athens, I stop at The National for lunch. I have enjoyed everything, but the wheat berry salad is so intriguing. I love learning about new grains. Will they share the recipe? — Emily Strong, Avondale Estates
Peter Dale, The National’s executive chef and owner, is always happy to share recipes. Wheat berries may be new to you so Dale has some advice. “Soaking wheat berries overnight not only produces a faster cook time, it also makes them easier to digest and allows your body to better access vitamins and minerals. We use wheat berries from Dayspring Farms in neighboring Madison County. If you can’t find local wheat berries, they can be found in the natural foods section of most grocery stores, and alternatively you can use Italian farro.”
If you use farro, which is now being found in the rice aisle of most grocery stores, there will be no need to soak the grains ahead of time and they cook more quickly than wheat berries. You can also try freekeh, an ancient variety of wheat that's making a splash. It's young wheat grains roasted over an open flame. We made the salad both with wheat berries and with Pereg's freekeh available at pereg-gourmet.com. You want to cook enough dry grains to yield 3 cups cooked.
Dale went on to write about the other ingredients in the salad, “The use of lima beans and pickled turnips represents what we had available seasonally and in our larder. I encourage home cooks to experiment and add a variety of ingredients to their own wheat berry salad. Use your favorite pickle. Pickled carrots would be especially nice.”
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