A Taster’s Journey

Tired of the same old side dishes? Potatoes and rice are both great; but using a different starch can help mix things up a bit.

Farro is a grain in the wheat family typically seen in Italian cuisine. It can be added to salads or soups, treated much like barley.  The salad recipe below uses cherry tomatoes, scallions, carrots and feta as the main ingredients; but you can get creative and add any of your favorite vegetables or herbs.

For 4 people…

I cup farro                                                           3 scallions

12 cherry tomatoes, halved                         1/4 cup feta cheese

1/4 cup olive oil                                               1 tsp Dijon mustard

2 tbs sherry wine vinegar                             1/4 cup fresh chives, chopped

1 tsp dried dill                                                    1/4 cup carrots, diced

1/2 lemon                                                            salt & pepper

Farro salad ingredients

Add 1 cup of farro to 3 cups of water, add a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 25 minutes; the farro should be tender. Strain the farro and transfer to a mixing bowl then add 1 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of pepper. Make a vinaigrette with the vinegar, olive oil, mustard, dill, salt and pepper. Add the vinaigrette to the farro while it’s still warm, the liquid will absorb better. Chop tomatoes, scallions, carrots, and chives and add to the farro with small chunks of feta cheese. Cover the salad and put in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours to allow the flavors to meld together.

Farro salad

Prior to serving, taste for seasoning. The salad will probably need salt. If it also needs a touch more zing, squeeze in the juice of half a lemon. Serve at room temperature. The other night I had farro salad with grilled lamb and roasted asparagus; it was great.

Are there any other ingredients that you would add to a farro salad?

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