Wheat Berry Porridge
Coming from a Lebanese background, I grew up with this dish. It is a traditional dish eaten to celebrate St Barbara's Day in December. This dish is loaded with good fibre and so many antioxidants.
Every time I eat this, I get reminded of my carefree childhood days. This recipe is very dear to my heart and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
PREPARATION: 15 minutes
COOKING: 45 minutes
SERVES: 4
Ingredients:
½ C wheat berries
3 C water
½ C sugar (or sweetener of choice)
1 Tb of orange blossom water or to taste
1 Tb rose water or to taste
½ C raisins
1 tsp ground anise seeds
1 tsp ground fennel seeds
½ tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
½ C chopped walnuts, almonds and pine nuts
Methods:
Clean the wheat berries by removing any stones or derbies. Wash and rinse wheat berries very well with water. Put in colander to drain.
Place the wheat berries and the 3 C of water in a pot, bring to a simmer and let it cook gently for about 30 minutes, mixing every few minutes so that the berries don’t stick to the bottom of the pot. Take off heat and set aside to cool for a few hours. You will notice that the berries will absorb much of the water.
Roughly chop the walnuts and the almonds.
Add the remaining sugar, orange blossom and rose water, raisins, spices and nuts.
Bring to a simmer for 10-15 minutes. If the porridge thickens a lot you may add some additional water.
Garnish with additional nuts or pomegranate seeds.
Joyce Haddad, Director of A Dietitian's Mission, is an Adelaide based Dietitian/Nutritionist and Master Personal Trainer with a passion for health and wellbeing. ADM aims to help the public make informed and realistic nutritional choices and ensure everyone has a healthy relationship with their body and with food.
