Farro and Summer Vegetable Salad

farro summer vegetable salad

I did not plan this salad.  It just sort of came to be through improvisation; I like to cook in this way.  Recipes are great, don’t get me wrong, and I enjoy using them, but it’s also nice to take what you have and come up with something delicious, which this most certainly is. Or, was – I ate it all within a 24 hour period.  It was that good.

First, though – what is farro?  Farro is an ancient whole wheat grain also known as Emmer; it’s also related to spelt.  It looks like large barley or even a bit like freekeh, and is medium brown in color.  It has a toothsome texture and mild, nutty flavor.  It has slightly less protein than quinoa, but has almost twice the fiber. You cook it like most grains – soak then simmer in a pot til the water (or stock) absorbs.  My farro comes from Cayuga Organics via my CSA.

So, Tuesday morning I decided I wanted to cook some grains.  I looked in the pantry and the first grain I spied was the farro.  So, I brought it down, put it in my soaking bowl, added water and raw vinegar and let it soak while I was at work.

That night I picked up my CSA shares – the veggie share was full of summer vegetables, and I knew their robust flavors would go well with the farro.

I took what I had – red peppers, leeks, zucchini, tomatoes – and mixed it with the cooked farro, along with some feta and lemon juice.  The salad was so delicious!  It was hearty and satisfying without weighing me down.  The flavors were sharp and clear and they all mixed together to make an excellent dish.  It was wonderfully savory.

I would make this again… in fact, I probably will make it again next week!  It was fantastic the next day, too – the flavors had married and tasted a bit deeper.  Definitely a good dish to bring as leftovers to work.

Farro and Summer Vegetable Salad

1 cup dry farro
soaking water and an acid (I used raw apple cider vinegar; lemon juice would work, too)
juice and zest of 1 lemon
kosher salt
1 leek, finely chopped
1 small red, orange, or yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 small zucchini, julienned, then the matchsticks cut in half to the length of an inch or so
1/4 cup feta cheese (Bulgarian feta is my favorite), crumbled
2 tablespoons pine nuts (raw or toasted)
1-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, each cut in half

Put the cup of dry farro in a bowl, cover with water and a splash of acid, and let soak for 8-10 hours.  When the soaking time is up, drain the farro and put in a saucepan with 1 cup of water.  Bring it to a boil, then let it simmer until almost all the water has been absorbed, about 20-25 minutes.  Rinse and drain and set aside.

While the farro is cooking, cut up the leeks.  The way I do this is that I cut off the top fibrous green leaves, leaving the tender white parts.  Then cut off the root end.  Slice the leek in half from root to tip, and rinse the leeks in a way to be sure there is no dirt stuck between the layers.  Put the cut side down and slice thin half moons.  You’ll have a pile of cute skinny half moon leeks – then chop them until they meet your standard for finely chopped.

Add the bell pepper and zucchini.  Add the lemon zest and squeeze the lemon onto the mixture of leeks, pepper, and zucchini, sprinkle with salt (I used about 1/4 tsp) and let that macerate until the farro is ready to be added.

Add the farro and mix with the vegetable lemon combination.  Crumble your feta and add the pine nuts. Pour the olive oil over it all. Last, add the sliced-in-half tomatoes. Mix it all together.  Adjust seasonings as you like.

Serves 4-6, or two servings for some very hungry people.

Fagioli Con Limone – Amazing Green Beans

green beans in egg lemon sauce

We got summer’s first green beans in our CSA share last week; we tend to get a lot of green beans (and purple beans and yellow beans) in our share each season.  Sadly, wasting them – meaning, letting them rot in the fridge – inevitably happens because we get so, so many each summer.  This year, I’m determined to not waste any.

There are some simple and delicious ways out there to cook green beans: sautéing them with garlic, ginger, and a little naturally fermented soy sauce, topped with Sriracha; incorporating them into omelet; and simply eating them raw in salads.

But I have one way to cook them that makes them really special; it elevates the simple green bean to something truly amazing.

boiling beans

I discovered this method several years ago, and rediscovered it while perusing my cookbooks last week.  After making it mid-week, I was reminded why I love this dish – it holds a wonderful combination of summery, earthy green flavors lent by the beans in a silky lemony egg sauce, almost like they are in a warm lemony aioli.  The green beans also take on my favorite texture – fork tender. It’s really easy to make, too.  And it’s full of good fat and protein from the pastured eggs and butter.

beans and lemon egg mixture

I find it’s easy to down a half pound of beans when cooked like this.  In fact, I had to restrain myself from eating them all the other night, so that I could save some for lunch the next day. They were terrific as leftovers.

I’ll be making this all summer, I believe.  I doubt there will be any wasted green beans, too!

Fagioli Con Limone
from The Vegetarian Table: Italy

1/2 pound string beans, ends trimmed, preferably organic
2 tsp kosher salt or coarse sea salt, plus more to taste
1 tbs unsalted butter (I used raw butter)
2 small eggs, preferably pastured
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (not from a bottle)
grated zest of 1/2 small lemon
freshly milled black pepper

In a saucepan bring enough water to cover the beans generously to a rolling boil. Add the beans and 2 tsp salt. Cook until tender, 6-7 minutes, then drain well.

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the drained beans to the butter, toss to coat, and cover the pan to keep them hot. In a bowl, lightly beat the eggs, and then beat in the lemon juice, lemon zest, and pepper to taste. Add the egg mixture to the hot beans and stir quickly with a wooden spoon. To prevent the eggs from curdling, keep the pot over the lowest possible heat, or place a flame tamer over the burner. As soon as the sauce thickens, remove the pot from the flame.

Serve hot.