Provencal Wheat Berry Salad with Shrimp

I'm always trying to find good, interesting dinner salads. We tend to eat late, around 8:00 (okay, not late by European standards.....) so I try to fix light dinners. Found this recipe in the Fine Cooking, Aug/Sept 2010 issue. The wheat berries caught my eye since I had bought a package a couple of weeks back and was hoping to use them in more than the initial recipe. Wheat berries add a nice solid texture so this salad will provide a satisfying meal for dinner while keeping it healthy.

Provencal Wheat Berry Salad with Shrimp, serves 2, Total time:1 1/2 hours

1/2 cup wheat berries
Kosher salt
4 oz. green beans, trimmed
7 oz. artichoke hearts (1/2 can), drained, cut in eights
4 oz. cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered (about 3/4 cup)
1/4 cup roughly chopped, well-toasted almonds
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
2 tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley
Freshly ground pepper
1/4 # medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and halved lengthwise
1 tbsp olive oil

In a 3 qt. saucepan, combine the wheat berries, 1 3/4 cup water and 1/4 tsp salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to maintain a slow simmer and cook, partially covered until the wheat berries are tender but pleasantly chewy. Begin checking after 50 minutes, though they may take up to 90 minutes (mine took 60 minutes). Drain the wheat well and spread on a baking sheet to cool. (You can cook the wheat up to 1 day ahead; refrigerate after cooling. Bring to room temperature before using.)

Bring another suacepan of water to a boil over high heat. Add 1/2 tsp salt and green beans. Cook until tender, 4-8 minutes. Drain and cover with ice for 2 minutes. Pat beans dry with a paper towel. Cut then into 1/2-3/4 inch pieces.

In a large bowl, combine the wheat, green beans, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, 3/4 of the almonds, chopped herbs, several grinds of pepper and enough vinaigrette (recipe follows) to coat. Toss thoroughly and season to taste. The grains will absorb the dressing, so you might need to add more.

Season the shrimp with salt. Heat the olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over high heat until shimmering. Add the shrimp in a single layer and cook undisturbed until lightly browned on the bottoms 1-2 minutes. Flip and continue to cook until the shrimp are curled and just opaque throughout, 1 minute.

Toss the shrimp into the salad and  sprinkle with the remaining almonds.

Mustard-Caper Vinaigrette
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp capers
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp minced fresh garlic
Kosher Salt
Freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup olive oil

In a small bowl or glass jar with a tight lid, whisk or shake all of the ingredients.

Bottom line:  Very nice salad. Chock full of goodness! Dave says "YUM!"