Wheat berries paella-style

I've tried a new ingredient this week - wheat berries. Or perhaps not that new, because this is simply whole wheat, an ingredient I eat in different forms most days in things like bread, pasta, bulghur wheat and so on.  I bought the wheat berries from my local Turkish shop, where it was labelled as "Natural wheat". It took me a while to discover that this was the same thing as wheat berries (which are not berries at all).

So they are a healthy whole grain, minimally processed. The downside is that they take a while to cook - 40 minutes to an hour, or in other words considerably longer than a packet of pasta. Soaking them for a few hours or overnight should take a few minutes off the cooking time. You can cook a panful while you get on with something else (just make sure they have plenty of water and don't burn). Then you can keep the cooked grains in the fridge or freezer for different dishes - stews, soups, salads and so on.

The taste is nutty, and reminded me of the puffed wheat cereal I used to eat for breakfast as a kid. It works really well with the smoky paprika flavours of this recipe

Once you have your cooked wheat, this dish should only take a few minutes to make. I know it's not a paella in any real sense, but it was inspired by the style and flavours of paella, but with extra wholegrain goodness.

Ingredients

Serves 2

2 cloves garlic
1 tsp olive or vegetable oil
200g/ 7oz boiled wheat berries (100g / 3.5oz uncooked weight)
1 red pepper
50g/ 2 oz frozen peas
25g/ 1oz frozen or fresh broad beans
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp normal paprika
100ml concentrated vegetable stock (made with a cube is fine)
2 boiled eggs, to serve (optional)

Method


Start by blackening your red pepper thoroughly by putting it directly onto a gas hob (you can also blacken the pepper under the grill, in which case cut it into large strips first). As soon as the pepper is cook enough to handle, rub off as much of the blackened skin as you can, then cut into small pieces.

While the pepper is cooking, you can chop the garlic and fry it in 1tsp oil in a large saucepan. After two minutes, add the cooked drained wheat berries, both types of paprika, the stock and the pieces of pepper. Simmer for a few minutes then add the broad beans, followed a minute later by the peas. Taste and season - it will need plenty of black pepper, possibly some salt, depending on your stock, and you may wish to add some extra paprika.

Serve just as it is or with some quartered boiled eggs on top.