Carrot and Chickpea Salad with Wheat Berries

This bold salad can stand as a balanced meal.

INGREDIENTS

Salad ingredients

• 1 cup dried wheat berries (or spelt berries or farro, adjust cooking time accordingly)
• 2 cups cooked chickpeas or 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 4 carrots, sliced into ribbons using a vegetable peeler
• ½ cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 4 to 6 cups arugula (if it’s not baby arugula, you might want to give it a few chops to break it into smaller pieces)

Dressing ingredients

• ⅓ cup olive oil
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 small lemon, juiced
• ½ teaspoon ground sea salt or kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Cook the wheat berries: Since wheat berries take around an hour to cook, I like to make extra and freeze it for later. To cook the wheat berries, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Stir in the wheat berries and ½ teaspoon salt. Partially cover the pot with a lid and cook, stirring often, until the berries are tender but still a little chewy (about an hour). Drain the wheat berries and let them cool to room temperature (you can speed up the cooling process by pouring them onto a rimmed baking sheet or pouring them into a large bowl, stirring occasionally).

In the meantime, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Transfer the cooled wheat berries to a big bowl. Add the chickpeas, carrots, feta cheese and arugula and toss to combine. Drizzle in the dressing and toss to coat. Serve immediately.