Week 89: Mediterranean Farro Salad

I'm always looking for new ways to use the yummy bulk grains that I keep in my pantry, so as soon as I found this farro salad I knew that it would be made soon.

The most notable thing that I learned from this recipe: I think that chives taste (and smell) like dog poo. I would be pretty okay with never adding those to anything I plan on eating ever again.

Otherwise, this salad was lovely. Good texture. Good flavor. The only thing I might add would be some feta.

Year of Yum Rating: 4 STARS

INGREDIENTS
10 ounces farro (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus 1/2 teaspoon
8 ounces green beans, cut into 1 to 2-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup pitted black olives
1 medium red pepper, cut into thin strips (about 4 ounces or 1 cup)
3 ounces Parmesan, crumbled (about 3/4 cup)
1 small bunch chives, snipped (about 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS
In a medium saucepan, combine 4 cups of water with the farro. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat until the farro is almost tender, about 20 minutes. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt and simmer until the farro is tender, about 10 minutes longer. Drain well. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool.

Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the green beans and stir. Cook for 2 minutes. Transfer the cooked green beans to a bowl of ice water and let cool for 2 minutes. Drain the green beans.

Once the farro has cooled add the green beans, olives, red pepper, Parmesan, and chives. Stir to combine. In a small bowl mix together the sherry vinegar, olive oil, mustard, pepper, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir to combine. Pour the sherry vinaigrette over the farro salad. Toss to combine and serve.

Recipe courtesy of Giada DeLaurentis

Week 65: Cold Farro Salad

I am always in search of wonderful new grains to use in the kitchen. I love making cold salads that I can keep in the refrigerator and eat for lunch throughout the workweek. Quinoa has been a standby ever since Costco started selling large bags of the organic stuff for a great price. A couple of weeks ago I saw that the same brand was selling farro in bulk at Costco, so I snatched some up. I didn't really use a recipe, but just threw some stuff in there that I already had in the fridge, and I knew would work. The finished product was a grain that was nutty and chewy, which was great with cold, crisp vegetables. I enjoyed this with cheese; some days goat and some days feta.

Year of Yum Rating: 3 1/2 STARS

INGREDIENTS
1 cup farro
3 cups water
bell pepper (I used the miniature ones from Costco that come in bags with red, orange, and yellow), diced
1 seedless cucumber, diced
olive oil
lemon
salt
pepper
cheese if desired

DIRECTIONS
Cook the farro according to package directions. It called for 3 cups of liquid to one cup of dry farro. I put some salt in the water while it was cooking. I also ended up with extra water in the pot after I deemed the farro to be done, so I just threw it in a strainer.

When dicing the peppers and cukes, I scraped the "guts" out of the cucumber even though it was seedless. I didn't want my salad to get too wet and soupy.

Squeeze the juice of one lemon, and add olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste. Toss with the farro and veggies. Let chill in the refrigerator before serving.