Kamut is a... berry?

Kamut Berry Pilaf with Caluiflower and Butternut Squash

I stumbled across this recipe on Pinterest (good ole' Pinterest; pointing me to all things interesting) and thought "What in the world is kamut berry?".  It sounded a little like "Mr. Pamuk", from Downton Abbey; as in:

 Lady Mary: "You mean my lover, mother, Mr. Pamuk?".

Which of course made me want to try it. I looked it up and it turns out kamut just means wheat.  But it's a nice hearty wheat, high in fiber and iron.  And because September just started, we have a plump grocery budget, so I wasn't too worried about the potentially bank-busting cost of the mysterious "kamut".  Come to find out, kamut might just be the cheapest thing at Whole Foods: it's $1.59 a pound.  And I only needed a pound.  (Actually the recipe calls for less.)

Well, what kamut gained in expense, it lost in cooking time.  Evidently from dry, it would take 2 hours to cook a pound of kamut.  Yikes.  But I did a little internet snooping and found a site that recommended soaking the grain overnight to cut down on cooking time.  Worked great.  It only took 30 minutes to cook.

Uncooked kamut. 

Cooked kamut. 

The berries taste better than I expected; they are nutty, chewy and buttery and have a little "pop" to them.  Probably wouldn't eat them alone, but lucky for me the recipe called for all sorts of fun additions: roasted cauliflower, roasted butternut squash, carmelized shallots and red onions, sherry vinegar, almond slices and fresh parsley.

Roasted cauliflower and butternut squash. 

Just starting the onions and shallots in olive oil. 

I have to say, for a vegan meal, this was delicious. Normally if I eat vegetarian, I have to pile the cheese on to feel satisfied.  This recipe didn't need anything else; it had all sorts of nice textures and flavors.  And it totally filled us up!

Finished product!