If you love tabbouleh, you’ll love this hearty vegan kale wheat berry salad recipe! In some ways, it is very similar—tomatoes, cucumber, lemon juice, and olive oil are all involved. In other ways, it’s a departure—no parsley, loads of oregano, wheat berries, kale and capers. Heavily influenced by Middle Eastern flavors, this easy kale cucumber tomato salad is simple and tasty.
The biggest time suck is boiling the wheat berries. After that, putting together the rest of the salad is just combining ingredients in a mixing bowl.
Two things…
- ・After you remove the stems from the kale and tear it into bite-size pieces, you’ll need to massage it. Basically, you want to squeeze it really hard over and over until the leaves are softened. It’ll make it more enjoyable to eat.
- ・For a variation, substitute farro for wheat berries, or stir in some cooked chickpeas.
This kale cucumber wheat berry salad makes a great side, lunch, or light dinner. Check out more UVK recipes, like Za’atar Chickpea Pitas, Slow Cooker Middle Eastern Eggplant Chickpea Stew, Sun-Dried Tomato Chickpea Burgers, Lemony Greek Wheat Berry Salad, Balsamic Potato Salad with Fresh Basil, Cherry Tomatoes and Wheat Berries, Seitan Wheat Berry Chili and more.
Let’s go make a delicious salad!
Middle Eastern Wheat Berry Salad with Kale, Cucumber and Tomato
1 cup dry wheat berries
3 cups water
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup lemon juice
1 ½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp sumac
½ tsp granulated onion powder
¼ tsp ground fennel
1 tsp sesame seeds
½ tsp salt
2 cups chopped tomatoes (or ~2 medium tomatoes, chopped)
1 English cucumber, chopped
2 Tbsp capers
4 cup lacinato kale torn into bite size pieces with stems removed and massaged (see note above)
1. First, you’ll prep the wheat berries for the kale salad. In a medium pot, add the wheat berries and the water. Bring to a boil over high heat, and then, turn the heat down to low. Cover with a lid and simmer over low for 30-45 minutes or until the wheat berries are fully cooked through and soft. Drain in a colander (or strainer) and rinse with cool water. Set aside.
2. Next, you’ll put together the dressing for the kale wheat berry salad. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, dried oregano, sumac, onion powder, ground fennel, sesame seeds and salt.
3. Add the tomatoes, cucumber, capers, kale and wheat berries to the mixing bowl. Combine well. Taste and adjust seasonings (More salt? More lemon?). Serve.
