Nourishing Roasted Asparagus Wheat Berry Salad with Vibrant Arugula Pistachio Pesto
Embrace the fresh, invigorating flavors of spring with this exceptionally wholesome and satisfying Roasted Asparagus Wheat Berry Salad. This vibrant dish is a celebration of seasonal produce, featuring tender, caramelized roasted asparagus, a bright and peppery arugula pistachio pesto, fragrant fresh basil, and delicate shavings of rich Manchego cheese. Designed as a hearty vegetarian main course salad, it’s not only delicious but also packed with nutrients, making it an ideal choice for a healthy and fulfilling springtime meal.
Forget artificial colors; this Roasted Asparagus Wheat Berry Salad champions the wholesome, delicious bounty that nature provides each spring. It’s a testament to how healthy eating can be incredibly satisfying and flavorful. Every component of this salad is carefully selected to contribute to its unique taste and impressive nutritional profile. Let’s highlight the star green components that make this salad a seasonal sensation:
- Succulent Roasted Asparagus: Known for its crisp-tender texture and slightly sweet, earthy flavor when caramelized to perfection. Asparagus is also a fantastic source of vitamins K, A, C, and folate.
- Peppery Baby Arugula: This leafy green provides a delightful, zesty bite and fresh bitterness, complementing the other flavors beautifully. Arugula is rich in vitamins K and A.
- Fragrant Fresh Basil: Infusing a sweet, aromatic essence, basil is essential for that classic pesto flavor and adds a touch of Mediterranean flair.
- Nutty Pistachios: Offering a rich, buttery flavor and a satisfying crunch, pistachios are a source of healthy fats, protein, and antioxidants.
This hearty grain salad is more than just a treat for your taste buds; it’s a guilt-free indulgence that perfectly fits into a balanced lifestyle. It’s the ideal way to enjoy the season’s best produce while providing sustained energy and satiety. Plus, if you’re like us, a satisfying healthy meal like this makes it easier to justify an extra slice or two of a decadent dessert, perhaps even a Guinness Stout Cake!
The Wholesome Heart of the Salad: Wheat Berries
The foundation of this outstanding vegetarian salad is the incredible wheat berry. This recipe specifically features hard red spring wheat berries, a commonly available variety that you can easily find in the bulk bins or grain sections of most grocery stores. These whole, unprocessed kernels of wheat are a nutritional powerhouse, offering a delightful chewiness and a subtle, earthy, and nutty flavor that creates a perfect base for the vibrant pesto and roasted vegetables.
Once perfectly cooked and cooled, the wheat berries are lovingly tossed with our homemade arugula-pistachio pesto. This isn’t just any pesto; it’s a burst of fresh flavor, crafted with aromatic fresh basil and a bright splash of lemon juice to deepen its complexity. The inclusion of pistachios, with their distinctive delicate yet rich taste, pairs exquisitely with the peppery notes of the arugula and the sweetness of the basil, culminating in a truly harmonious and exciting flavor profile. And of course, the vibrant green hue of the pesto only adds to the salad’s fresh, inviting appeal!
I’ve developed a profound appreciation for pistachios over the last year, finding endless ways to integrate them into countless savory dishes. Their unique texture—a satisfying crunch without being overly hard—and their rich, slightly sweet flavor are simply unmatched. For this particular salad, we not only incorporate them into the pesto but also generously garnish the finished dish with extra chopped pistachios. This provides an additional layer of texture and a burst of nutty flavor in every single bite.
My partner, Connor, and I often share a laugh about how frequently our meals, especially when pesto is involved, transform into an unintentional symphony of green. Our plates consistently feature various enchanting shades of emerald and lime, a delightful and very “us” culinary characteristic that this salad embodies perfectly. The visual appeal is almost as satisfying as the taste!
I am also a firm believer that wheat berries are an underappreciated gem in the culinary world, deserving far more attention online. This conviction, coupled with the convenient presence of a bag of wheat berries patiently waiting in my kitchen cabinet, served as the ultimate inspiration for creating this delightful recipe. If you’re just discovering wheat berries, prepare for a revelation! They are quite literally the whole, unprocessed kernels of hard red spring wheat – the very same foundational kernels that are expertly milled to produce nutritious bread flour. How fascinating is that? You simply can’t achieve a more complete or authentic whole grain experience than with wheat berries.
Wheat Berries vs. Farro: A Deeper Dive into Whole Grains
Consider wheat berries as the slightly less trendy, yet equally delicious and perhaps more robust, cousin to farro. While both are ancient whole grains and boast impressive nutritional benefits, they each bring unique qualities to the table. Wheat berries offer a distinctly nutty flavor profile and a wonderfully satisfyingly chewy texture that stands up beautifully in salads. Although they share a similar culinary concept and versatility with farro, wheat berries hold a significant advantage for many home cooks: they are often considerably more affordable, making them an excellent, budget-friendly choice for incorporating nutritious whole grains into your diet.
There is one key difference to note when you’re preparing wheat berries: their cooking time. Achieving tender, perfectly cooked wheat berries typically takes about an hour on the stovetop. While soaking them beforehand is a common recommendation to reduce this time, my experience suggests it only shaves off a maximum of 10 minutes. Therefore, I highly recommend planning ahead and preparing this salad, or at least cooking the wheat berries, on a day when you have a bit of extra time. They’re an excellent candidate for weekend meal prep, allowing you to have a ready-to-assemble base for this delicious and healthy vegetarian salad throughout the busy week.
Despite their longer cooking duration, wheat berries are remarkably versatile and generally quite interchangeable with farro in most recipes. So, if you happen to have farro on hand, feel free to substitute it for wheat berries, and vice versa! Just bear in mind that farro typically cooks much quicker, usually within 25 to 30 minutes. Whichever whole grain you opt for, you’re guaranteed a wholesome, fiber-rich, and incredibly delicious foundation for your vibrant spring salad.
Serving Suggestions & Customization for Your Perfect Wheat Berry Salad
This incredibly versatile Roasted Asparagus Wheat Berry Salad can easily shine as a satisfying main course, especially for those seeking a plant-based dinner. Thanks to the significant protein and fiber content of the whole wheat berries, alongside the concentrated nutrient density of the fresh vegetables, herbs, and healthy fats, it’s a remarkably filling, balanced, and complete meal. Alternatively, it makes an exquisite accompaniment to virtually any protein. Imagine it alongside grilled salmon, pan-seared chicken breast, or a plant-based alternative like baked crispy tofu or grilled halloumi for an even more robust meal experience.
I absolutely adore finishing this salad with delicate shavings of Manchego cheese. Its buttery, slightly nutty, and tangy profile adds a wonderful layer of complex flavor that truly ties all the elements together. However, this is your canvas – feel free to experiment with your favorite cheeses! A generous sprinkle of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano offers a classic salty umami kick, while crumbled feta cheese would introduce a delightful tangy, briny note that beautifully complements the fresh greens and rich pesto. For an extra layer of creaminess and healthy monounsaturated fats, consider adding large, ripe chunks of avocado just before serving. No matter how you choose to customize it, this salad is a testament to the power of fresh, vibrant ingredients and the joy of wholesome, flavorful eating. It’s a truly adaptable recipe that promises to bring a burst of spring to your table.
Roasted Asparagus Wheat Berry Salad with Arugula Pistachio Pesto
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Ingredients
Wheat Berries:
- 1 cup hard red wheat berries rinsed (see notes for substitution ideas)
- kosher salt
- extra virgin olive oil
Roasted Asparagus:
- 1 bunch fresh thick-stalk asparagus tough ends discarded
- extra virgin olive oil
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Arugula Pistachio Pesto:
- 2 medium garlic cloves
- 2 ounces baby arugula leaves
- 1½ ounces fresh basil leaves
- ¼ cup toasted pistachios plus more for garnishing
- ⅓ cup (80 mL) extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) fresh lemon juice
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Garnishes:
- fresh basil leaves chiffonade
- toasted shelled pistachios roughly chopped
- fresh lemon zest
- Manchego or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, shaved
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C) with a rack in the center position.
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Cook the Wheat Berries: Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the wheat berries and cook, stirring every so often, for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the wheat berries are tender and cooked through. Exact cook time will vary depending on how fresh the grains are. Drain and spread into a thin layer onto a clean sheet pan to cool them quickly. Drizzle and toss with a small drizzle of olive oil. Cool completely at room temperature, or place in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes to speed it up.
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Roast the Asparagus: As the wheat berries are finishing cooking, place the trimmed asparagus spears on a second half sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper, and toss. Distribute into an even layer, setting them apart. Roast for 12 to 18 minutes, flipping halfway, or until caramelized and tender. Remove and allow to cool on a rack while you prepare the rest of the salad.
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Make the Pesto: In a large food processor, pulse the garlic cloves until finely minced. Add the arugula and basil leaves and pulse until coarsely chopped, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the raw pistachios and slowly pour in the olive oil, processing until mostly smooth. Transfer to container, stir in the lemon juice, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
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Assemble: Place the cooled wheat berries in a large mixing or serving bowl and generously toss with the arugula pistachio pesto (*you will most likely have some leftover pesto). Season the salad to taste with salt and pepper. Cut the roasted asparagus spears on a bias into 1-inch pieces, add to the wheat berries, and toss the mixture gently.
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Serve at room temperature or cold. Garnish the salad with chiffonade basil, coarsely chopped pistachios, freshly grated lemon zest, and shaved Manchego cheese (or Parmigiano-Reggiano) as desired.
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Leftover salad can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 5 days.
Tips for Success:
- This salad would also work perfectly with farro, an Italian grain similar in appearance to wheat berries. Use the same method above, but reduce the cook time to 25 to 35 minutes total.
- Try to seek out thick asparagus (as opposed to very thin spears) for this salad, as they are better suited for roasting. If you use thinner asparagus, reduce the roasting time as necessary. Thick stalks are less likely to overcook and become limp.
- To store leftover pesto, place it in a small airtight container, press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pesto to prevent oxidation, then cover with a thin layer of olive oil. It will keep fresh in the refrigerator for up to a week, or you can freeze it for longer storage. Slather leftover pesto on toast for breakfast, topped with a runny fried egg, or toss it with freshly cooked pasta for a quick and easy meal!