Photo by Angela Aurelio
Courtesy Kendra Baker, The Picnic Basket, Santa Cruz
Makes 4 good-sized salads
This salad is delicious, satisfying and easy to make!
1½ cups dried Sonora wheat berries
16 dried plums
2 8-ounce balls fresh mozzarella
2 bunches Lacinato kale
Lemon vinaigrette
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
4 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon champagne vinegar
Pinch kosher salt, to taste
1¼ cups extra virgin olive oil
Toast the wheat berries in an oven on a baking sheet for approximately 10 minutes at 375° F. Fill pot with water, add wheat berries and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook wheat berries until just tender, approximately 40–50 minutes. Strain into a colander and rinse with cold water.
Measure out all ingredients for the vinaigrette into a bowl. Using an immersion blender, blend well to emulsify. Adjust seasoning if necessary.
Prepare kale by pulling the leafy part off of the stem then tearing it into 1½-by-1½-inch pieces. Massage the kale with some of the lemon vinaigrette about an hour before you want to serve the salad. Tear the dried plums into quarters. Tear the mozzarella into small pieces.
Add the dried plums, mozzarella and wheat berries to the kale. Toss, adding more lemon vinaigrette as needed to fully dress the ingredients. Season with a little salt to taste. Enjoy!
About the author
At Edible Monterey Bay, our mission is to celebrate the local food culture of Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey Counties, season by season. We believe in sustainability, and we believe everyone has a right to healthful, clean and affordable food. We think knowing where our food comes from is powerful, and we hope our magazine, website and newsletters inspire readers to get to know and support our local growers, fishers, chefs, vintners and food artisans.
