Creamy Gruenkern salad

Gruenkern is very popular among Germany's health foodies, it's super yummy and highly versatile. You can make perfect veggie burgers from it, use it just like rice or, like me today, turn it into a filling salad.

I'm not sure about the availabilty in other countries, but I saw it occasionally in GB. Try this lovely bilingual site for more information and a lot more recipe ideas from the grain!

This one was inspired by a prepared, extremely expensive deli-style salad in my local health food store. I simply made my own version. Here you go:

1 cup cooked gruenkern grains (prepare just the way you would do with brown rice, let cool)
1/2 leek, cut into fine rings
1 big carrot, chopped or grated
4 or 5 medium sized mushrooms
1 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsps soy yoghurt
2 tbsps balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp agave nectar
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
sea salt, pepper, dried or fresh italian herbs of your choice (e.g. basil, oregano, thyme)
slightly toasted sunflower seeds (optional)

In a deep frying pan, cook leek and mushrooms in olive oil and soy sauce until lightly brown and tender. Let cool for at least 10 minutes. In the meantime, mix yoghurt, vinegar, salt, pepper, herbs, nutri yeast and nectar for the dressing.
Combine Carrots, cooked vegetables, sauce and gruenkern grains and let marinate a few minutes. Garnish with sunflower seeds. Serve with a hearty sandwich or bagel, for example like this one.