Vegetarian Madness! Veggie Wheat-Berry Salad with Warm Pita and Grilled Halloumi

But first, a confession. Had you asked me what "halloumi" was 6 months ago, I would've ventured a guess that it was a type of fish. I would have, of course, been absolutely wrong. I had been to countless Greek and Mediterranean restaurants and seen something called "halloumi" on the menu and immediately regarded it as a type of fish, perhaps a white fish like halibut or mahi-mahi or a bronzino. Although, now I see that I probably just equated the way halloumi sounded with a combination of the words halibut and mahi-mahi (I believe covered the fact that I'm weird. Moving on...) Regardless, I would've never thought it was a type of cheese. What kind of name is halloumi for a type of cheese anyway? Well, it is and my sincerest apologies for the island of Cyprus (and its inhabitants) where halloumi originated. Halloumi is, indeed, a cheese and I learned this at a birthday party earlier this year. What's wondrous about halloumi is that it doesn't melt, but one of its famed preparations is grilling it. I'm not sure what kind of magic keeps this brined sheeps' milk cheese from melting once applied to heat, but it remains intact and this delicious salty-briny-crispy crust forms on the outside. It's delicious and irresistible. My friend's boyfriend grilled some up for my friend's birthday party and it just tasted so damn good. Plus, it's super quick and easy. Just a non-stick pan is needed over medium heat. Plop down a few slices, grill a couple minutes on either side, then eat! Well, okay, wait for it to cool down a bit, but then eat!

Weirdly enough, I forgot about the halloumi until this weekend while leafing through this month's issue of Women's Health. Every once in a while they'll have a section on food and cooking chock-full of delicious recipes. This month's held a particular gem: Veggie Wheat Berry Salad. My husband, when presented with this week's menu, immediately said "I knew you'd pick to make that!" pointing to the recipe in the magazine. I asked him why he would think that I would be drawn to this recipe, despite the fact that it sounded delicious and perfect for a summer evening. "Because of the photo. It's in a small little glass, all pretty and colorful." Indeed the photo shows a small appetizer-sized glass full of colorful veggies and little fluffy-looking wheat berries. I can't deny that the photo drew me into the recipe in the first place (ironic considering one of this month's articles is on food porn...), but it was the potential for a delicious one-salad meal with fresh summer veggies and chewy wheat berries. I fell in love with wheat berries when I was living in London. One of the yogurt varieties/brands had winter wheat berries stirred throughout. The yogurt itself was sublime (so much better than the yogurt in the states), but the addition of the wheat berries...it made it more filling and you'd find these little chewy bits of deliciousness amid the creamy clouds of yogurt and sweet chunks of strawberries. I ate more yogurt while I was in London that I'd eaten my entire life. Anyway, for the longest time I didn't know what these little bits were in my yogurt. But now I know and I'm totally going to cook up a batch of plain wheat berries and sprinkle them in my yogurt from now on.

Anyway, getting back to the salad, and the meal as a whole, it was perfect: savory and fresh. I couldn't find any green bell peppers at the store, and wanting a bit more color than red, I found a few purple bell peppers and picked those up (of course, forgetting that the red onion is also purple, but they still stood out). The dressing is a great combination of tangy and savory, akin to the "broth" in a gazpacho (thanks, in part, to the red wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce). Overall it had a very gazpacho-like quality, but much more filling due to the chewy and delicious wheat berries. Originally, I wasn't sure if this would be filling enough for a dinner, which is why I toasted up a pita bread and grilled up the halloumi. Everything worked so well together. After taking a bit of pita and cheese with a bit of olive oil, a bit of the salad would cleanse the palate. This would make an excellent picnic meal (either pre-grill the cheese or use a pan or be extra-special careful on the open BBQ). The salad itself, of course, is perfect for summer potlucks, too!

Veggie Wheat Berry Salad
Serves 4 (as a meal by itself)

1 Cup Wheat Berries (the soft white or "pastry" style wheat berries work best compared to the winter variety)
1 lb Tomatoes, finely diced
1 Bell Pepper (any color you prefer), finely diced
1 Cucumber, seeded and finely diced (FYI no seeding required if you're using an English or "hothouse" cucumber)
3 Celery Stalks, finely diced
1/2 Red Onion, small, finely diced
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice
2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
A Few Dashes of Hot Sauce (stick to something like Crystal, don't use anything which has its own flavor like Tapatio)
Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

1. Soak wheat berries in a big bowl of cool water for at least 8 hours (no more than 16). Drain.
2. Add soaked wheat berries to a medium sauce pan and fill with fresh water, about 2/3 of the way. Set over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about an hour.
3. Strain cooked wheat berries in a sieve and run under cold water to bring to room temperature.
4. Add the wheat berries to the rest of the ingredients and combine. Let marinate at room temperature for about 20 minutes.
"Veggie Wheat Berry Salad." Women's Health, September 2012, p. 72.