Before I say anything else, I want to mention that you can totally make this GF by using brown rice or quinoa instead of wheatberries. The chewy texture will still be the same.
Some people suggest soaking grains like wheatberries for a few hours before cooking, but I've heard it's not necessary. I'll leave the soaking up to you. It won't hurt and at the very least, it will cut your cooking time down by a bit.
Fry some chopped onion in a little olive oil. When the onion starts to turn clear, add some chopped garlic, ground cumin, thyme, ground black pepper, and a pinch of cayenne. Fry for another minute or so and then add a can (the 500g/14oz-ish size) of stewed tomatoes, another can of water, about 2 cups of chopped winter squash (butternut or whatever) and about a cup of wheatberries (or brown rice or quinoa). Add a tsp of dried parsley (if you'd rather use fresh, stir in chopped fresh parsley about 5 minutes before serving). Now just let everything simmer for about an hour. Give everything a stir every so often and add some more water if things are looking too thick. The wheatberries will puff up and their innards won't look quite so white when they are cooked (try one, they will be nice and chewy!) and the squash will be so mushy, it will practically disintegrate.
At this point, you can add your (cooked) fava beans (aka broad beans). If you can't find fava beans, don't fret -- garbanzos make a good substitution and they are usually pretty easy to find. Kidney beans would work, too. I added maybe 2 cups of cooked beans (I'd say about a can if you are the canned-bean sort). This is also a good time to add a glug or two of soy sauce (use a wheat-free tamari if you are GF).
Simmer everything for another 10 minutes or so and serve it on up! This stew is really really filling and delightfully chewy.
That looks like it fits right into brown food Monday.
ReplyDelete