Kamut Salad ♥

Today's simple seasonal grain salad recipe: A hearty, healthy mix of the ancient grain branded "kamut" [pronounced ka-mutt] and late-summer vegetables. No added oil!

Perfect for Late-Summer and Early Fall But Also Adaptable for a Year-Round Kitchen Staple. Great for Meal Prep. Low Fat. Weight Watchers Friendly & Freestyle Friendly. Not just vegan, Vegan Done Real.

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Rethinking Meal Planning

Beginning maybe 18 months ago, my whole approach to cooking took a one-eighty.

INVENTORY LIKE A RESTAURANT Restaurant chefs tell me this over and over when I ask the "what else" question. "So you make X dish with Y ingredient", I ask. "What else do you make with Y?" The chefs always rattle off two or three other dishes. So sensible, this! At home, now when I buy Y ingredient, I want to have (or to figure out) at least three X recipes I'd happily make with Y anytime, preferably ones slightly different, a salad, a soup and a main dish, say, or seasonal with cold-weather and hot-weather ideas.

MEAL PREP vs COOKING DINNER My old habit was to show up in the kitchen 30 to 45 minutes before dinner, check the fridge to see what there was: by the time dinner got to the table, late, I was sweaty and frazzled and trust me, supper was often a disappointment. My new habit is to show up an hour or some times two before dinner. Instead of "cooking dinner," I begin to make stuff that can "become" supper on a moment's notice, either that night or another. Salad dressing. Chicken stock. Roasted vegetables. Pots of grains or beans. Grilled proteins. Little extras that make a big difference. More salad dressing. Every day, I add to the meal-prep larder. Every night, dinner becomes easier and easier.

A SOUP, A SALAD & A PROTEIN. AND BREAD. At all times, I try to keep a soup, a salad and a protein in the fridge, ready for a light lunch or a quick supper. Oh and bread, always bread, most weeks the easy, European-style bread we call "Our Daily Bread."

Ingredient Meal Prep In Action

So when I first soaked and then cooked a big pot of kamut, I really didn't know where the cooked kamut was headed. It went into the fridge and it wasn't until the next day when I decided that a kamut salad was in order. I was so happy with this salad! Not only did I "cook from the pantry" (using up the last of the kamut), I also constructed a plant-based salad that we enjoyed not just the first night, but for a few days. And now I've got two proven ways to use kamut again in the future!

What Is Kamut and What Do You Cook With It?

WHAT IS KAMUT? Kamut is the brand name for an "ancient grain" wheat called Khorosan – the kernels are twice as big and contain more protein. The texture is meaty, the taste nutty.

HOW TO PRONOUNCE KAMUT? It's pronounced [ka-mutt], rhyming with a mixed-breed dog, not a moot point. I remind myself by intoning our wonderful dog, a pointer named Luka. "Luka, you're a ka-mutt, a sweet and wonderful ka-mutt, but a ka-mutt none the less."

NO KAMUT? No problem. This salad easily converts to another grain, definitely farro, maybe barley, maybe quinoa – also lentils, also cooked beans. But kamut is worth seeking out, it has a firm, nutty quality with a chew factor. So far, I've only used it in two other dishes, the wonderful, weeknight-easy Oven-Baked Whole-Grain Pilaf with Quinoa, Barley, Kamut & Other Grains and kind-of-a-production Egyptian Kamut Salad with Roasted Carrot & Pomegranate.

So here's an idea. Make the pilaf for supper one night, then use what's leftover to make this salad for the next or later in the week. Double Win.

This recipe is so quick and easy that I'm adding it to a growing collection of easy summer recipes published all summer long ever since 2009 at Kitchen Parade, my food column. With a free Kitchen Parade e-mail subscription, you'll never miss a one!

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RECIPE for KAMUT SALAD

Hands-on time: 20 minutes
Time to table: 20 minutes
Makes about 5-1/2 cups

MARINATE
2 cups cooked kamut
3 tablespoons (40g) red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

VEGGIES
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 medium cucumber, chopped (English, Persian, garden variety, etc ...)
4 green onions, white and green parts, chopped
2 ears corn, How to Cut Corn Off the Cob: Keeping All Ten Fingers, Capturing Every Delicious Kernel and Every Drop of Sweet Corn "Milk"
1/4 cup drained capers (don't skip)

MARINATE In a bowl, stir together the kamut, vinegar and salt, we do this first so the kamut can soak up the vinegar just a bit, slightly "pickling" the grains.

THEN ADD VEGGIES Stir in the remaining ingredients. Taste and adjust the vinegar and salt.

MAKE-AHEAD Kamut Salad is ready to eat as soon as it's done but can be made a day ahead of time, just cover and store in the fridge.

VARIATIONS Many veggies would work, try for a different colors, shapes and textures. Instead of green onion, you could use Spiced Pickled Red Onions, so handy to have on hand! This salad would be great topped with feta crumbles, wide swaths of shaved parmesan, even warm halloumi steaks.

ALANNA'S TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES
HOW TO COOK KAMUT First, rinse the kamut in a colander or strainer until the water runs clear. The purpose is to remove the dust and starch that accumulate with grains, this makes for fresher, more distinct flavor. (There are two ways to rinse the kamut. Option One. Just rinse the kamut under running water for a minute or two, moving the grains around as the water runs. Option Two. Dip the colander or strainer into a bowl of water several times, each time lifting the colander/strainer out of the bowl to drain; (repeat several times, you may need to refresh the water). Tip the kamut into a large bowl (use your eventual cooking pot to save a dish) and cover with fresh water; let it soak all day or overnight. To cook the kamut, rinse the kamut again, just briefly. Bring salted water to a boil, add the kamut. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer, cover and let cook for 30 to 40 minutes until cooked (the kernels will still be quite firm).
HOW MUCH KAMUT TO COOK FOR 2 CUPS COOKED? Cook 1 cup of kamut in 2 cups of water (with 2 teaspoons kosher salt) for 2 cups cooked kamut. But go ahead, cook more. It's easy to have on hand for salad suppers, quick additions to omelets and frittatas, dropping into soup.
NO OIL! So many salads like this would include a tablespoon or two or three or four or more in the dressing. And for anyone who's needing extra calories, go for it. But it's just not needed here. So I leave it out!

NUTRITION INFORMATION
Per Half Cup: 78 Calories; 0g Tot Fat; 0g Sat Fat; 0mg Cholesterol; 149mg Sodium; 17g Carb; 1g Fiber; 2g Sugar; 3g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS Old Points 1 & PointsPlus 2 & SmartPoints 2 & Freestyle 1 & myWW green 1 & blue 1 & purple 0 CALORIE COUNTERS 100-calorie serving = 2/3 cup (4g protein).

TODAY'S VEGETABLE RECIPE INSPIRATION Verrrry loosely adapted from my own recipe for Lentil Salad with Tomatoes, Dill & Basil.

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SEASONAL EATING: Late Summer & Early Fall Across the Years

Roasted Tomatoes with Fresh Herbed Ricotta Creamed Radishes with Pimenton Creamy Sweet Corn Soup Tomato Bread Pudding IV Never-the-Same Steamed Broccoli (< great technique here!) Arugula with Peaches, Concord Grapes and Feta And the River Was Like Glass (< Remembering 9/11) How to Make Salad Dressing Green Smoothies Yellow Squash Coconut Soup How to Freeze Corn Smoked Potatoes Bolognese Sauce with Slow-Roasted Tomatoes Yellow Summer Squash Casserole Savory Stir-Fried Sweet Potatoes (< the seasons are changing, can you tell?) Butternut Squash Soup with Mango & Toasted Coconut Kohlrabi Recipes – Alphabet of Vegetables Armenian Vegetable Stew Green Pepper Frittata

A Veggie Venture is home of "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg and the
famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.
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