Fibre, protein and plenty of plant-derived nutrition: this is a healthy salad which also tastes delicious.
How to cook spelt?
Spelt is an ancient grain, a variety of wheat, much beloved of the Romans. On the other hand, what did Romans not love?
Spelt grain comes in various stages of processing. Wholegrain spelt, the unprocessed whole cereal, is nutritionally the most valuable but it needs soaking and cooking for ages.
Pearled spelt is partly processed as it’s de-husked and de-germed. It makes for easier cooking but is obviously a little less ‘whole’ nutritionally.
Then there is instant or quick cook spelt which, as all quick and instant products, is the least beneficial even though you might like the speed and the taste.
Finally, whole cooked spelt is available in vacuum packed pouches, and it’s both good for us and convenient – but pricey.
So unless I want to spend hours soaking and cooking, I usually go for pearled spelt. You win some and you lose some, as with everything.
Pearled spelt cooks reasonably quickly, about twenty minutes of simmering in a big pan of water – at least three times the volume.
But if you have a rice cooker that can be used for other grains than rice (don’t want to suggest you wreck your rice cooker so better check the instructions), it will also cook spelt nicely on a standard program. Measure it out in volume and add about three times as much water for the machine.
Beans and spelt
Instead of sprinkling cooked spelt grains over a pile of salad leaves, like they do in cafés, I pair it with beans. That makes the dish not only more interesting but filling, satisfying and highly nutritious.
Both beans and spelt are high in both protein and fibre: the two macronutrients that decide on whether we still go hungry after a meal. Beans and spelt will fill you up, and they are a surprisingly good combination. Although on second thoughts it perhaps shouldn’t be surprising: beans and grains together are a staple worldwide.
Beans and rice are combined into various dishes in North, Latin America and the Caribbean. In Asia there are numerous bean and rice dishes, and even in Europe: the Portuguese feijoada, bean stew with rice.
The Middle East goes for bulgur wheat or couscous with lentils or chickpeas, in Africa they often cook teff with beans or lentils and if you think about it, the English national dish of beans on toast is a combo of pulses (Heinz best) and grains (Hovis sliced). Who knew?
But I promise that this dish, albeit slightly more effortful than opening a tin and toasting a slice, is much more delicious.
How to make the harissa dressing
Beans and spelt might be very nutritious and filling, but if you tried them au naturel, without a seasoning or dressing, there’s no denying they’d be bland, boring and very uninteresting.
Harissa dressing brings it out and zings it up several levels. And it’s a good recipe to chalk up, as there’s no reason why you shouldn’t use the dressing on all kinds of salads, including plain old lettuce leaves.
Harissa is the Middle Eastern chilli paste, deeper in flavour and lighter in heat than ordinary chilli pastes because it’s made with at least two types of peppers, hotter and milder, as well as garlic, herbs, seeds and olive oil. Rose harissa, a variety of the condiment, additionally contains rose petals, making it yet more fragrant and complex in flavour. I always go for that, not least because it also sounds lovely.
The dressing itself though is not at all complex in making. Salt and black pepper, because the beans and spelt have not been at all seasoned, olive oil and lemon juice, then harissa and pomegranate molasses for the full ethnic flavour. If you don’t have pomegranate molasses, use honey.
To assemble, it’s best to stir the dressing into beans and spelt first, and only then add tomatoes and lettuce, otherwise the latter two will become a little wilted and mangled.
And I like to keep a tub of the spelt-beans-harissa base in the fridge (and it will keep for a good few days), and make up a bowl of salad for lunch on a daily basis, adding tomatoes, avocado, nuts, cucumber and whatever else I fancy.
More bean recipes
Avocado and red kidney bean salad with crispy garlic and crunchy seed and nut topping, the garlic and the topping alone make this recipe worth trying!
Butter beans and chorizo dish with crispy Parmesan topping, a little heat from a chilli and saltiness from anchovy. Beans and sausage, but not as you know it!
Crispy pork mince, kidney beans and Romaine lettuce salad with mixed toasted seeds. Caramelised pork crumbs are the best thing since crispy bacon!
More healthy grain salad recipes
Couscous with asparagus chunks, toasted pistachio nuts and fresh herbs, it’s a warm salad of perfectly matched ingredients.
Simple chickpea salad with pancetta, red pepper and mushrooms makes a quick and easy lunchtime dish. Tinned chickpeas are dry roasted in a pan with cayenne pepper.
Brown butter lentil and sweet potato salad is a delicious combo of roasted sweet potato chunks, green or puy lentils cooked from scratch and a super flavoursome dressing made with sage leaves and brown butter. With crumbled blue or goats cheese on top, optionally.