Wheat Pudding

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Wheat Pudding

I was made fun of for meeting everyone I wanted to see at the same place. This was during my last trip home when I was reconnecting with old friends and family. The said meeting place of my choice was the Palace Hotel downtown. Why in a hotel? The café on hotel’s first floor is famous for their cakes and pastries. Of course, I frequently posted photos on my Facebook page of all the goodies I had there. They could put me on their payroll, that’s how often I was there during my two-week visit.

“But you didn’t have the wheat pudding!?” said my aunt in disbelief. How could I miss the famous wheat pudding?

Although this wheat pudding is a traditional dessert served especially at slava – family’s patron saint’s day festivities (Orthodox Christian tradition), Christmas, and lent, I have never had it before.

To fix this mistake I’ve been making the wheat pudding (also called žito and koljivo) ever since I came back from Bosnia in September. I made it so often, I think I made up for all the pudding I haven’t had in the past. There are variations to the recipe, but they all basically consist of cooked wheat berries, walnuts, sugar and spices. Honey, maple syrup, orange peel, other nuts, dried fruits or even rum can be added. It is served with a generous amount of whipped cream, except during the lent.

Ingredients:
Serves 2-3

½ cup whole Wheat Berries
3 cups Water
A pinch of Salt
1 cup chopped Walnuts
1/3 cup powdered Sugar
1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 cup Heavy Cream
1 tablespoon Vanilla Sugar (can be substituted with powdered sugar)

Directions:

Rinse wheat berries with warm water. In a saucepan, bring wheat berries, water and salt to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until tender, about two hours. Drain the cooked wheat in a sieve and rinse the excess gluten off with hot water. Leave it in the sieve for 30 minutes. If you want to make it ahead, leave them in the sieve overnight and skip the next step.

Line a large baking sheet with paper towels. Spread the wheat berries over towels and pat dry with more paper towels.

Using a food processor or a meat grinder grind the wheat, sugar, walnuts, nutmeg, and cinnamon until combined. Don’t over-process it; you want some texture, not a paste.

Whip the heavy cream and vanilla sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Serve pudding in small glass dishes topped with whipped cream.

Wheat Pudding

A simple, healthy dessert made with wheat berries and walnuts is a satisfying addition to your Christmas table spread.

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Print Rate

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

• ½ cup whole Wheat Berries
• 3 cups Water
• A pinch of Salt
• 1 cup chopped Walnuts
• 1/3 cup powdered Sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• 1 tablespoon Vanilla Sugar can be substituted with powdered sugar

Instructions

• Rinse wheat berries with warm water. In a saucepan, bring wheat berries, water and salt to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until tender, about two hours. Drain the cooked wheat in a sieve and rinse the excess gluten off with hot water. Leave it in the sieve for 30 minutes. If you want to make it ahead, leave them in the sieve overnight and skip the next step.
• Line a large baking sheet with paper towels. Spread the wheat berries over towels and pat dry with more paper towels.
• Using a food processor or a meat grinder grind the wheat, sugar, walnuts, nutmeg, and cinnamon until combined. Don’t over-process it; you want some texture, not a paste.
• Whip the heavy cream and vanilla sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Serve pudding in small glass dishes topped with whipped cream.

Notes

Dried fruit, rum, almonds, hazelnuts, orange zest, honey or maple syrup can be added for different flavors.

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