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farro salad 1

This weekend was a good one. For starters we watched Star trek and I suppose I don’t reaaaaallly need to tell you how good it is. We decided to meet some of our friends for dinner and from there we had plans to go bowling. I was excited even though I knew how bad I am at it.

Dinner was at my all time favorite restaurant. We have this small dingy hole-in-the-wall kind of thai restaurant close to our place. But don’t judge it by its looks. It makes one of the best Thai food I have ever eaten apart from the one in Jerry’s hometown. For starters we had chicken pot stickers and soon enough we moved to a main course of Red curry with thai curry fried rice. It’s been 2 days since I had this meal but while writing this I can hear my stomach growling for some more of it.

After ending our dinner with sticky rice along with freshly cut mangoes, we decided to go bowling. But due to unknown reasons  we found that the bowling facility was down. Disheartened we decided on going home and spilling our sorrows on few bottles of wine while playing cards. Trust me it was 4 hours of non stop fun and believe me in my 27 yrs I have not encountered a better card game than UNO. Call it silly but you can’t make me change my mind.

Weekend went by so fast that I found myself standing by the kitchen counter last evening with a packet of farro in my hands. For starteres most of you especially the fellow friends in food blogging world  have been cooking with this ancient grain for at least 2-3 years I suppose or that is what my google search engine shows but  not me. I have never ever cooked or even eaten farro. I have come across various recipes from time to time and then there were times I almost decided to give it a try but then I was too scared. What if it tastes weird, what if no one eats it and blah blah blah in my mind. Finally I gathered enough courage and oh my I was blown away. The chewy grains in a pesto sauce sitting in a garden of vegetables.

A kind of salad you can create with whatever vegetables you have on hand. Saves a shopping trip and you can utilize those chopped tomatoes from earlier meal or that parsley which you had no idea how to use.

A healthy filling salad. Can be arranged ahead of time. Enough said. Trust me you will be making it again and again. To the recipe now.

For parsley pesto :

  • 1 cup flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
  • 1/4 cup walnuts, toasted
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 2 tbsp parmesan, shredded
  • Lemon juice to taste
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt to taste

Blend all this in a blender until a coarse but kind of smooth paste forms. Taste and adjust salt and lemon juice.

For Farro salad :

  • 1/2 cup farro dry, cooked in 1.5 cups water for 15-20 minutes until soft and chewy
  • Parsley pesto
  • 1/2 cup tomatoes, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup red/yellow onion, chopped
  • 3-4 medium sized brussel sprouts, shredded
  • 1/2-1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • Lemon juice to taste
  • Salt and black pepper to taste
  • Red chili flakes (optional)
  • Sunflower seeds for garnishing

Let the farro cool down after cooking. In a big bowl, add farro, pesto, tomatoes, onions, sprouts, vinegar. Mix it all up nicely. Add salt, black pepper, lemon juicve and red chili flakes and give it a good shake. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve right away or chill it in refrigerator.

Before serving garnish with sunflower seeds.

Enjoy. See you soon. Hugs.