Update: Arugula Pesto Wheat Berry Recipe

by Sarah

Tonight I made Heidi Swanson’s Arugula Pesto Wheat Berryrecipe and my verdict is “meh.” My husband’s verdict is two-thumbs-down with a pouty face. That’s pretty bad.

There’re a few things that were going on here. I absolutely do not think that this recipe was a dog. I think I put too much pesto on my wheat berries, for starters. So if you do make this, go easy at first and add more, which Heidi does encourage you to do. I just thought the pesto was delicious and so I was in a “if some if good, hell, more is better!” place, and, well, I overdid it.

Second. I did add the fried seitan, and although I’ve been wanting to like seitan forever now, I just don’t. The texture is too weird for me – if you’re a seitan lover, put it in and you’ll have a tasty, protein-packed meal.

Third. Wheat berries are chewy. They have a great, sort of nutty flavor, but they are work. I like this, actually, but they are not for everyone – for instance, my poor husband. I think these pushed him over the edge of his whole-foods tolerance. He said “I like quinoa soooo much better.”

Fourth. The pesto. I love arugula – it’s peppery and fresh. This pesto is an electric green color, toasty from the pine nuts, zesty from the fresh Parmesan. I thought it was great. Husband pronounced it “too green,” both in color and flavor. I tried some on our daughter’s plain udon noodles and it was terrific.

I’m not giving up on this! I have the leftovers in the fridge and tomorrow for lunch I’m going to try them again – the flavors will have melded well by then, and if it’s still too much, I might put a mound of wheat berries, etc. on a bed of arugula and eat it that way. Some chopped tomato might be great with it too.

I’ll let you know.