Wholegrain home run

My family loves food, and a recurring dinner conversation of late starts thus: "If I could only eat one thing for the rest of my life, it would be...." I shouldn't be surprised that this conversation recurs so frequently, since limiting oneself to but one dish would be a trial indeed for a family as food-loving as mine. Needless to say, if, as is occasionally the case, the sought after dish is what actually lies steaming in front of them at the time, it is a huge compliment to the chef!

For my oldest son, the one food that would satisfy him solo in the years to come is chilli. Any kind of chilli really, whether veggie, meaty, soupy... you name it, he will lick the bowl clean then reach for seconds. And if there are any leftovers, then he'll eat them out of a thermos the following day for lunch, and then lick that clean (not an easy feat, with a thermos, you try). So this may not be the last chilli recipe that makes it on to this blog. It is a good one though, and unsurprisingly, since it comes from my idol Judith Finlayson, yet again, from her book The Complete Whole Grains Cookbook. I have tweaked it a little, since I prefer to cook with ground turkey instead of ground beef, and therefore with chicken stock, rather than beef stock, but either way you'll get a steamy one-dish meal of satisfaction. Moreover, it fits with my current aim to get more wholegrains into our diet, featuring as it does, wheat berries. One serving of this deliciousness delivers 7.5g of dietary fiber.

Satisfaction guaranteed

Chilli con Wheat Berries
Serves 8 (well, it serves 6 Farrars)

1 1/2 cups uncooked wheat berries (soft or hard red)
3 1/4 cups water
1 TBSP olive oil
1 lb lean ground turkey
2 onions, chopped
4 stalks celery, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 TBSP chili powder
1 tsp caraway seeds
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 28oz can diced tomatoes in juice, no salt added
1 cup chicken stock
Chopped avocado and shredded cheddar to serve.

1. Put wheat berries and water in saucepan and bring to boil. Turn heat down to low, cover and simmer for 50 minutes, then drain off any remaining water and set wheat berries aside.
2. In a large dutch oven, heat oil over medium high heat and add ground turkey and onions. Cook, stirring and breaking up meat until no longer pink (about 6 mins).
3. Add celery, bell pepper, jalapeno(s) and garlic and cook until vegetables start to soften (about 3 minutes). Then add chili powder, caraway seeds and pepper and continue to cook, stirring, for a further 1 minute.
4. Add tomatoes, kidney beans, cooked wheat berries (should be 3 cups of them now they are cooked) and stock, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until flavors meld, about 30 minutes.
5. Season with salt to taste, and serve in bowls, topped with avocado and cheddar.