As a dietetic intern, packing a healthy, tasty, and exciting lunch becomes an art. I have to admit, I sometimes fall into the rut of making the same large batch of bulgur salad or soup every couple months. This winter I have been especially prone to making lots of pureed vegetable soups. I'm starting to think I am preparing myself for some sort of dysphagia diet in my future. Definitely not good! Consequently, I am going to introduce you to a recipe I'll be eating this week for lunch and it doesn't include any pureeing.
Farro salad holds a dear place in my heart, mostly because I learned the recipe while taking classes two summers ago in Florence, Italy. Farro, which is an ancient wheat grain, is used commonly for cold salads and risotto dishes in Italy.
This particular farro salad recipe was given to me by an Italian dietitian who taught my class on the Mediterranean Diet. The salad was so simple, yet all the ingredients were top quality. I'm talking spicy, herbaceous tuscan olive oil, sweet cherry tomatoes, and the most wonderful cheese I've ever had in my life......fresh pecorino.
The reason I haven't made this dish since my travels to Italy is mostly due to a lack of access to great Italian ingredients. I couldn't find farro grains in any of my co-ops in Indiana and had failed to find any in Boston, until a couple weeks ago. Thanks to Capone Foods in Cambridge, I finally found some authentic farro grains, as well as fabulous tasting olive oil and homemade pestos and fresh pastas.
AND, thanks to Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge for always offering a fantastic variety of cheeses. This is where I FINALLY found a fabulous tasting young pecorino cheese from Tuscany. See usually, I can only find pecorino romano in the stores. This is the hard pecorino that you grate over pastas and salads, much like parmeggiano reggiano. I wanted to find a soft, young pecorino, just like the pecorino they used in the salad in Tuscany. When I made my first trip up to Cambridge to the store, I was delighted to see that they indeed had some young pecorino. Formaggio has almost any kind of cheese you could ever want, so check it out if you are in the Boston area.
Anyway, the recipe goes like this. . . .
First you want to cook the farro in a medium sized pot. The ratio of farro to water is 1 cup farro to 2 1/2 cups of water. I did 1 1/2 cups of farro so that I could have lots of leftovers to eat for lunch this week.
Combine the farro and water and bring to boil. Then let simmer for 20 minutes covered (or until they have a soft texture with a nice bite to it).
While the farro is cooking, you can dice the cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and pecorino cheese.
Make them about a 1/2 inch dice and try to make sure they are all about the same size. It just makes the salad easier to eat.
Next, you can make the dressing. Just a simple vinaigrette of red wine vinegar, dijion mustard, and good olive oil.
Take about a 1/4 c of red wine vinegar and combine it with 1 T of dijion mustard, a healthy pinch of salt and some cracked pepper.
Next, while continuously whisking, drizzle in a 1/4 c of olive oil. Make sure that the dressing is completely emulsified.
*** You can also use this dressing for tuna salads, white bean salads, lettuces, and anything else you would like to dress***
Once the farro is cooked, drain in a colander and run under cool water for 30 seconds (just to cool it off a bit).
Toss the cooked farro, chopped veggies and cheese, and dressing and toss to coat. It is ready to eat immediately or can be stored in the fridge for up to a week.
And that's it. Now for the next week I can relive my time in Florence at every single lunch. And considering all the snow and cold we have in Boston, a daily vacation will be much needed =) Enjoy all!
