Mediterranean Breakfast Wheat Berries

Indulge in the charm and exotic allure of a healthy breakfast with these Mediterranean Wheat Berries, infused with classic spices, rose water, and sweetened with honey.

Course All Recipes, Breakfast

Cuisine Mediterranean

Keyword Mediterranean Breakfast, Wheat Berries

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Resting Time 30 minutes

Servings

Calories 324kcal

Equipment

3Qt Pot

Ingredients

1 cup wheat berries
3 cups water + 1 cup
¼ cup honey brown sugar, or agave
½ teaspoon rose water up to 1 teaspoon
¾ teaspoon ground anise or fennel seeds
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon nutmeg freshly grated
⅛ teaspoon salt
¼ cup golden raisins a.k.a. sultana
¼ cup dried apricots chopped (more if desired)
¼ cup pistachios chopped; walnuts, hazelnuts, or pine nuts for garnish

Optional Garnish

Dollop with plain Greek or Bulgarian yogurt
Milk or Cream
Pomegranate seeds

Instructions

In a saucepan, combine 1 cup of wheat berries and 3 cups water. Bring to a rolling boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour. Once cooked, remove from heat, drain any surplus water.
Stir in the honey (brown sugar or agave), rose water, anise or fennel seeds, cinnamon, nutmeg, golden raisins, diced dried apricots, salt and 1 cup of fresh water. Feel free to add more rose water to taste, I prefer one full teaspoon.
Note: Here you can cover and leave overnight in the refrigerator and pick up in the morning, or proceed to the next step.
Bring to a simmer. Continue to simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until berries are soft and splayed. There should be some liquid surrounding the wheat berries.
Serve with a spoonful of the liquid sweet broth from the saucepan. Feel free to add yogurt, milk, or cream, and garnish with chopped nuts and a few pomegranate seeds if desired.

Notes

Advance preparation: The cooked wheat berries will keep for 5 days in the refrigerator. When you are ready to make the recipe, simply advance to step two of the instructions on the day of preparation.
Finished prepared berries last in the refrigerator 3-4 days, a great breakfast meal prep.
Splayed means spread out and apart. You will be looking for when the outer part of the wheat kernels split open, or splay open.

Nutrition