From time to time, a girl needs a certain measure of culinary detox. If you’re like me, though, you wouldn’t be caught dead drinking green juice all day long for three days. Enter the handsome, charming wheatberry salad with dried fruit. It’s almost annoyingly virtuous, except that it tastes so good you’ll never notice. A little sweet, a little savory, with a deeply satisfying texture – oh, it’s vegan, alright, but not the kind that’ll make you feel bad about yourself for wearing leather shoes to work.

Steps

1. In a large pot, bring 3 quarts of water and three tablespoons of salt to a rolling boil. Add the wheatberries and cook until they are chewy and as tender as you’d like them, probably about 70 minutes for hard berries and 50-60 minutes for soft. Drain.
2. While the wheatberries are cooking, prepare the vinaigrette. In a bowl large enough to accommodate all the ingredients for the salad, combine the lemon juice, vinegar and mustard with two big pinches of salt and some freshly ground pepper. Whisk in the olive oil in a slow stream, until emulsified.
3. Add the chopped apricots, cherries, onion, scallions and parsley to the bowl. When the wheatberries are done, add them to the bowl while they’re hot, and mix well to coat everything with dressing. Serve warm or at room temperature. A little crumbled feta would be a great addition, if you’re in the mood.