Einkorn Salad with Radicchio & Oranges

Not only can you mill fresh einkorn berries to make einkorn flour and einkorn sourdough bread, but you can also boil them or other wheat berries to create nourishing and hearty grain salads like this Einkorn Salad with Radicchio and Oranges!

This salad is perfect for winter when oranges are best in season, offering a sunny mix of flavors and textures. It can be served as a main dish or a side.

With its blend of bitterness, sweetness, crunchiness, acidity, and filling grains, it hits all the right salad notes for me in four simple steps. The ancient grain salad is dressed with a simple mustard vinaigrette and garnished with crunchy maple-candied pecans and pumpkin seeds.

Don’t have einkorn berries on hand? No problem! You can easily substitute einkorn with spelt, farro, or other wheat berries. Additionally, quinoa, millet, or wild rice would also work well in this recipe.

My guide below walks through many other substitutes for the recipe and how to make it your own!

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👍 Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Great way to use einkorn or other wheat berries in your pantry, just like Sourdough Einkorn Waffles.
• Easy mustard vinaigrette
• Topped with sticky-sweet and crunchy maple-candied pecans and pumpkin seeds
• Versatile recipe with many substitutions
• Can cook the einkorn, dressing, and candied pecans ahead of time before serving
• Vegan and plant-based recipe

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🌾 What is Einkorn?

Einkorn is an ancient grain that’s been cultivated by humans for thousands of years. In fact, it’s often considered the oldest wheat and hasn’t been genetically altered as other modern wheat varieties are.

As an “ancient grain,” alongside spelt, emmer, rye, and buckwheat, einkorn is cherished for its nutritional benefits. With a lower gluten content and higher protein levels compared to modern wheats, it has gained popularity among health-conscious consumers.

Einkorn berries are usually freshly milled to make einkorn flour that you can incorporate into recipes like my Beginner’s Einkorn Sourdough Bread recipe. However, you can also cook the whole berries, treating them like rice, to enjoy them as a wholesome whole grain.

When cooked, it has a slightly reddish hue with a mellow, nutty flavor like farro. Like making rice, the texture of the cooked grain depends on how long you boil the einkorn, but I like to go for an al dente texture so there’s a little bite to the tender grains.

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🛒 Ingredients Needed:

See below for my ingredient recommendations and substitutions.

Einkorn Salad

• Einkorn berries
  • I typically get my einkorn berries at a local co-op in the bulk section. However, you can purchase them online from numerous mills and companies. I really like the organic einkorn berries from Bluebird Grain Farms.
  • Can easily substitute with another wheat berry, such as spelt or farro.
• Radicchio, torn apart into bite-sized pieces
  • Radicchio looks like a small red cabbage, but has a bitter somewhat spicy flavor with a nice crunch. The sweetness from the oranges and candied pecans help tame some of its bitterness.
  • Can use another chicory, such as endives or escarole. Could also use red cabbage for a similar crunch and color (but less bitterness).
• Spring mix, or other lettuces
  • In the wintertime, I just use one of those 5 oz. pre-washed boxes of spring mix at the grocery store. During the summer or fall, I recommend a small bunch of fresh lettuces if possible from a farmer’s market or your own garden if you grow!
• Oranges, peeled and sliced into thin rings
  • I like Cara Cara oranges best for this salad because they’re sweeter, easy to peel, and seedless. They’re best in season during the winter months.
  • Can use navel oranges, blood oranges, or any other of your favorite sweet citrus.
• Shallots, sliced into rings

Mustard Vinaigrette

• Dijon mustard or stone-ground mustard
• One garlic clove, minced
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Red wine vinegar
• Salt
• Black pepper

Maple-Candied Pecans and Pumpkin Seeds

The sticky-sweet-crunchy topping is optional, but they’re really easy to make and you can make ahead of time or as the berries cook!

They add little pops of sweetness and crunch throughout the salad to balance out the radicchio.

• Pecans, chopped
  • Substitute with another crunchy nut, such as walnuts, pistachios, or even hazelnuts.
• Pumpkin seeds
  • Substitute with sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, or flax.
• Fennel seeds
  • Gives a slight anise-flavor and wonderful fragrance to the candied nuts that makes it taste sweeter than they actually are. If you don’t have fennel seeds, just omit them.
• Maple syrup
  • Can substitute with honey or agave.

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🥗 How to Make Einkorn Salad with Radicchio & Oranges

Follow this visual recipe guide as you make this grain salad. It serves up to 4 people as a main dish or 8 as a side dish.

1. Cook the Einkorn Berries

Cooking einkorn berries is similar to cooking rice or other grains.

Add a cup of rinsed einkorn berries to a small saucepan or pot. Pour in 1 ¾ cups of water and a large pinch of salt.

Bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover with a lid, and reduce heat to low so the berries simmer and cook for about 40-45 minutes. Don’t leave the heat on too high, or the water will boil off too quickly and the bottom will burn.

Near the end of cooking, you can taste a couple to see how al dente they are and if you want to cook them longer. When done, remove the lid and let cool for a few minutes in the pot before straining any remaining water.

You can serve mix the berries into the salad while warm or cooled completely.

2. Make the Mustard Vinaigrette

As the einkorn cooks, you can make this easy mustard vinaigrette in a small mason jar or a small bowl with a whisk.

Simply combine the dijon mustard, minced garlic clove, red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt, and black pepper in the jar. Then, cover with a lid and give it a good shake to make your vinaigrette!

3. Make the Maple-Candied Pecans and Pumpkin Seeds

As the berries cook, I also make the maple-candied nuts and seeds.

Chop up the pecans and toss them into a small skillet with the pumpkin seeds over medium heat. Stir occasionally until they just begin to toast. Then, toss in the fennel seeds.

While stirring, pour in the maple syrup. It will sputter dramatically. Turn to low and constantly stir until the nuts and seeds are coated in the maple syrup.

As soon as they start sticking together, about a minute, transfer the nuts to a heatproof bowl to cool and toss a few more times as they cool to break apart any big pieces.

The nuts will form sticky-sweet clusters just like Sourdough Discard Granola as they cool!

4. Assemble the Salad

When you’re ready to assemble the salad, peel and slice the oranges and shallots into thin, round rings.

In a large bowl, toss together the einkorn berries, salad mix, shallots, and radicchio.

Then, pour all of the vinaigrette on top and toss again until every leaf is coated in dressing. Taste and adjust with more salt, pepper, or vinegar as needed.

To serve, lay the grain salad onto a large platter (or you can keep it in the bowl) and place the oranges on top, followed by the maple-candied pecans.

Drizzle a bit of good extra virgin olive oil on top, followed by a few pinches of flaky salt and pepper.

Finally, enjoy! The salad is excellent as a main dish or served as a side.

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❓ FAQs:

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