I've been wanting to work with wheat berries for a while because of their unique texture, appearance, and yummy flavor. I was feeling particularly ambitious one afternoon and decided to create a dish utilizing these guys along with summer veggies and one of my favorite flavor combos, lemon and basil.
Apparently I had some spare time as well, since I decided to add yet another component to the recipe. About a month and a half earlier, I had lunch at Marty's Market and discovered a new way of serving tofu... Tofutons! Tofu croutons are essentially small pieces of tofu baked for a long time until they become crispy on the outside. They were great on salad and worked really well on the recipe I ended up creating.
If you have an afternoon of nothing to do, give this recipe a shot! Timing is important, as each item is either cooked in the oven or on the stove for different amounts of time. If you're planning on serving this warm, plan ahead. If you're going the cold route, which is equally tasty, you can cook in whatever order your heart desires. I'm not going to plan for you, but I will give instructions for each individual recipe.
NOTE: Everything prepared in the oven uses the same temperature- 400 degrees F. Preheat your oven to 400 at the start and don't change it until you're done!
Lemon Basil Wheat Berry Salad with Roasted Veggies and Tofutons
By Caroline Mac
Wheat Berries
Some sources will tell you to soak dry wheat berries before cooking them, but I also read that they cook about the same whether soaked or not. Since I didn't have prep time the night before, I decided to do the no-soak version and hope for the best (they turned out just fine!)
Ingredients:
1 c uncooked wheat berries
3 c water
Step 1: In a large pan, bring wheat berries and water to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and let cook for 30- 60 (or more) minutes. Start checking the wheat berries at 30 minutes, as cooking time varies. When done, they'll be chewy but not tough. My wheat berries took an absurdly long 75 minutes to cook... Maybe I should have soaked them...
Step 2: When wheat berries have cooked, drain them and set aside.
Roasted Eggplant
Ingredients:
1 large eggplant
Olive oil
Italian seasoning
Step 1: Slice eggplant in half lengthwise. Score the eggplant flesh in a diamond pattern (intersecting diagonal lines) without completely cutting through the skin.
Step 2: Brush a light layer of olive oil all over eggplant halves and sprinkle flesh side with italian seasoning. Place eggplant face-down on a baking sheet. Roast for approximately 40 minutes at 400*, or until tender. Remove from oven and let cool 5-10 minutes.
Step 3: Once eggplant is cool enough to handle, separate the flesh from the skin. I gently sliced between the two and then scooped it out with a spoon.
Roasted Squash
Ingredients:
1 large yellow squash
Olive oil
Italian Seasoning
Step 1: Slice squash lengthwise and then into thin slices (they'll look like half circles)
Step 2: Place squash in a baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Toss until evenly coated. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Bake at 400* for 15-20 minutes, or until tender.
Roasted Garlic
Ingredients:
1 head of garlic, intact
Olive oil
Aluminum foil
Step 1: Remove the outer layers of the head of garlic until you've reached the individual cloves. Slice off about 1/2 an inch from the top of head, or enough to expose the raw tips of the cloves.
Step 2: Coat garlic with a light layer of olive oil. Wrap in foil and bake for approximately 40 minutes. Using a small spoon, scoop roasted cloves from skin, leaving them as whole as possible.
Tofu Croutons
Ingredients:
1-14 oz block firm tofu, rinsed and lightly pressed to remove excess liquid
Approx 1 T olive oil
Salt, to taste
Italian seasoning, to taste
Step 1: Slice tofu in half to form two thinner rectangles. Slice those into 1/2 inch cubes. Spread cubes onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with seasonings.
Step 2: Bake tofu at 400* for around 50 minutes, or until outside is golden and crispy. You want this tofu to be a little crispier than your typical baked tofu, since you're trying to create a crouton-like consistency.
Lemon Basil Dressing
Ingredients:
Juice of 1 lemon
1 c fresh basil
2 t olive oil
Lemon pepper, to taste
In a blender, puree all ingredients until smooth.
You're almost done!
Once each component is complete, combine everything in a large bowl and stir until evenly mixed and coated with dressing. Top with tofu croutons and serve warm or cold.
Whew! It took a while, but is totally worth it.
Enjoy!
~Caroline~
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One of the first things that impressed me on the menu was the variety of vegetarian options. Going into a sushi restaurant I would typically expect to be offered a cucumber roll, avocado roll, tempura veggies, seaweed salad, and maybe a tofu dish. Bamboo, however, goes above and beyond. There was also an impressive list of mocktails. I eventually settled on the Lychee Punch. Since there were three of us dining, my parents and I each ordered a different appetizer. I picked the Sunomono Seaweed Salad, which was great. It had a few different types of sea vegetables and was dressed in a sesame oil-based dressing that was light and refreshing. My mom chose the Japanese spinach salad, which was presented in a very sculptural cylinder shape. I only tried a bite, but it was extremely flavorful. My dad chose an array of colorful pickled fruits and vegetables, each with their own unique flavors, though some were very salty.
