Precooked Wheat Berries Recipes

Steps:

• Put a rimmed baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Toast the wheat berries in a large dry pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, stirring often, 6 to 7 minutes. Add 8 cups water and season with salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot occasionally, until the wheat berries are tender but still slightly chewy, 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, adding up to 1 cup more water if needed. Drain. Wipe out the pot and reserve.
• Meanwhile, place the beets on a large sheet of foil; drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Fold and crimp the edges to form a packet, leaving room for steam to circulate. Transfer the packet directly to the oven rack and roast until the beets are tender when pierced with a knife, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool slightly, then rub off the skins with a paper towel and cut into wedges.
• Meanwhile, remove the hot baking sheet from the oven and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the carrots and season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper; toss. Roast until tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in the reserved pot over medium-high heat. Add the red onion, fennel, garlic, ginger, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and the fennel is crisp-tender, about 6 minutes. Add the wheat berries, carrots and remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cook, stirring, until warmed through, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the orange juice, lemon juice and all but 2 tablespoons parsley; season with salt and pepper. Stir in the beets. Sprinkle with the remaining parsley. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Steps:

• Place all ingredients into a pressure cooker and cook on high heat until hissing begins and pressure rises. Lower heat to maintain hissing and cook for 45 minutes.

Steps:

• The Evening Before
• Place the weighed wheat berries in a pan with plenty of water, cover, and soak overnight at room temperature. I like to make at least twice the amount needed, so I have extra breakfast porridge.
• Mix the ricotta and sugar together, cover, and refrigerate overnight. (If the ricotta is runny, drain it first in cheesecloth, weigh it, and then mix it with the sugar.)
• Make the short crust pastry. You can use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or bowl with a stiff spatula. First cream the butter and sugar, then add the rest of the ingredients except the flour, finally add the flour. Bring the dough together, adding a little flour if it is very sticky. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate overnight.
• Same Day Prep
• Drain and add fresh water to the pan of wheat berries. You can start with 1 quart water and add more as needed. Bring up to a light boil and then set to simmer uncovered for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Check periodically to make sure the simmer is light and the water hasn't evaporated off. When most of the wheat berries have popped open, the grano cotto is done.
• Add the ingredients from the wheat cream list to the pan of grano cotto and simmer while stirring until the mixture is pasty. Remove the peels if desired and use a fork or potato masher to crush the berries. Add the candied peels/citron to the wheat cream and set aside to cool. For a very smooth filling, immersion blend the entire mixture.
• Bring the ricotta-sugar and shortcrust pastry dough out of the refrigerator.
• Whisk together all the ingredients under the ricotta citrus filling ingredient list, adding the ricotta-sugar last.
• Finally, mix the cooled wheat cream into to the ricotta citrus filling. You now have a complete pastiera filling.
• Assembly and Baking
• Preheat your oven to 360F with a shelf at the second-to-lowest position.
• Lightly grease a 9-inch nonstick cake pan.
• Cut your shortcut pastry dough in two pieces, approximately 2/3 for the pastiera base and 1/3 for the lattice/gelosies.
• Flour your workspace and roll out the pastiera base. Use your pan to estimate the dough circle size, making sure you have enough to wrap the dough up the sides of the pan.
• Carefully wrap the dough around your rolling pin and transfer it to the pan. Use your fingers to press it into the pan and repair any tears, and a knife to cut off excess crust.
• Dock the crust base with a fork to prevent it from puffing upward while baking. This is not particularly needed for a whole wheat crust, but doesn't hurt.
• Roll a rectangle with the second piece of dough, again using plenty of flour, and cut into seven strips.
• Fill the pastiera base with the filling and gently tap the pan on the counter to remove trapped air.
• Place the first four strips of the top crust on the pastiera. Don't lay the first strip dead center, or you'll have trouble spacing the other three.
• Lay the last three strips of crust at an angle to make diamond shapes.
• Trim the excess strips around the edge of the pan and press the strips into the base crust. Extra dough can be baked as cookies; or rolled into a tube, wrapped, and frozen to bake as cookies on another occasion.
• Bake for 50-60 minutes. About 15 minutes into the bake, wrap the edges of the pastiera with a silicone or foil pie shield.
• Let the pastiera cool completely before you attempt to pop it out of the pan. I do this by loosening the edges, then covering it with a clean tea towel, followed by my palm, and then flipping the pastiera into my palm, removing the pan and flipping again as I gently lay it on a flat plate.
• Pastiera can be kept at room temperature to set and fully develop its flavors.
• On day two, you can store leftovers in the refrigerator and heat by the slice for 20-30 seconds in the microwave just to soften the texture and reawaken the aromas.