The word of the day is...

SPELT. 

I know...another one of those items designed to make your HP ("health points") soar. 

Spelt is just a grain - a fairly ancient grain at that (not the specific grain you're going to find at the store - I'm guessing that will NOT be ancient!) and to be honest, I'm not exactly sure where you might find this grain.  It doesn't seem like the thing you'd find in your corner market.

I, however, don't have any trouble locating it in my area because it's easily found in the bulk section of my (okay not so very) nearby PCC Natural Markets (but there are other substitutions that are nearly as good and should be readily found - or as always you can order from Amazon.com).  I wasn't really completely sold (still not actually) on all things "organic" but I truly love PCC.  They've got absolutely fabulous instructors, an amazing class schedule and fun stuff in the store you're not going to find anywhere else (okay except for the all knowing, all seeing, all having just about everything I could ever need, Amazon.com).  If you live in western Washington, you should really check this place out!

What I really love about their classes is that they give me opportunity to really expand my recipes, thoughts, processes, ideas, really everything about being in the kitchen.  I've learned so much over the years and I've never yet taken a class that I didn't come home and immediately want to try at least one of the recipes provided!  Some of the classes are hands-on and they are fun but even the "lecture" classes are so packed with fun and information that the 2 1/2 hours fly by.

This past Monday evening I took a class called Great Grains, a hands-on class to explore new ways to add more grains to meals.  It was a very small class (only six of us showed up) and after a short introduction to our teacher (Pam Sawyer) and the topic, we were each given a recipe, the ingredients and tools and put to work.  It was fairly intense as we were not only trying to complete our assignment but also keep an eye on what everyone else was doing (since we would be taking those recipes home with us as well).  The recipes were very diverse including a legume (lentils), grains (spelt and bulgur), and a "grass" (quinoa) along with lots of vegetables and herbs.

Yours truly was assigned to make the Mediterranean Spelt Salad which turns out to have been the most popular salad (through none of my particular efforts I assure you!  And truly everything was absolutely wonderful!!!).  This salad includes things that are not my particular "favorite"  (not a big fan of red onions - a little goes a REALLY long way for me.  Ditto fresh mint.) but when combined, it produces something truly wonderful (and more importantly HEALTHY!)

Mediterranean Spelt Salad

Serves: 4 to 6
Preparation Time:  20 minutes
Cooking Time:  30-40 minutes (plus 1 hours to quick soak grains)

Ingredients

1 cup Spelt berries (can substitute winter wheat berries or faro)

1/3  cup minced red onion

1/2  cup roasted red peppers

1/2  cup sliced Kalamata olives

1/3  cup toasted pine nuts

1/3  cup finely minced flat parsley

1/4  cup finely minced mint leaves

 

For the Dressing:

2  teaspoon Dijon mustard

2  cloves garlic, peeled

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup sherry vinegar

1/2 teaspoon smoky paprika

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

 

Instructions

To Quick Soak Spelt:

1. In a medium saucepan bring 2 1/2 cups water to boil.  Stir in 1 cup of spelt berries.
2. Turn off heat, cover pan and let sit for 1 hour.
3. Drain off any residual water.
4. Quick soak can be done ahead of time.  Store in refrigerator until ready to use.
5. After soaking for 1 hour, cook spelt in 1 1/2 cups of water for 30 to 40 minutes until tender.  Drain and refrigerate until cool.

To make the dressing:

1. Smash the peeled garlic cloves with the back of a knife.  Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and then turn into paste by dragging the back of the knife over garlic.
2. Mince garlic and put into small bowl with Dijon mustard, sherry vinegar, paprika, salt and pepper. 
3. Slowly whisk in olive oil.
4. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Gently toss the cooled spelt berries with the red onion, roasted red peppers, Kalamata olives, pine nuts, herbs and about 1/2 the dressing.  Stir and taste. 

Terri's tips:

• Due to time constraints, the teacher had cooked the Spelt thru Step 4 when I was supposed to finish the cooking in class.  We discovered that because she had let it sit a little longer (1 1/4 hour) it was actually perfectly ready to go directly into the salad as it was!  I suggest you taste it after it cools in Step 4 and decide for yourself if it needs another cooking.
• In class we used the ingredients as listed above but clearly this recipe is meant to be a "springboard" - use what you've got on hand, what you like, what you need to clear out of your fridge.
• Also in class, I had about 1/2 the dressing leftover.  Definitely keep this!!!  If you're making ahead, if you anticipate leftover salad, and most assuredly if you have elected NOT to cook the spelt a second time, this salad will SOAK up the dressing.

This is an amazing salad to keep in the fridge to sustain you for lunches, etc. throughout the week!

~later, so enjoying my new kitchen...can you tell?, tw