Warm Farro Salad

Orangette is pretty much fool-proof in my opinion, and this recipe was no exception.  I needed a quick dinner one night, and this was perfect.  I didn't have any escarole or radicchio in the house, but arugula substituted nicely.



I also made the Sauce Gribiche from her blog (the Chez Panisse, not Zuni Cafe version) to go over cold, blanched asparagus at my dear friend's baby shower in San Francisco, but didn't manage a grab a picture.  It was delicious (of course) and highly complimented, so while asparagus are still in season go out and do it!



Warm Farro Salad with Chickpeas, Feta, and Spicy Dressing (from Orangette):

I used the Trader Joe's 10-minute farro, and it was delicious.

Farro:
1 cup farro
1/2 tsp. salt

Dressing:
3 Tbsp. fish sauce
3 Tbsp. lime juice
2-3 Tbsp. brown sugar
6-8 Tbsp. water, to taste
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Thai chile, thinly sliced (or 1 tsp. sambal oelek)

Salad:
Chickpeas
Arugula
Carrots, sliced into rounds
Feta, coarsely crumbled

Cook your farro.  Either soaking and boiling, or just boiling depending on type.  Drain and set aside.

Combine fish sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, water, garlic, and chile (or sambal) in a bowl.  Whisk well.  Taste and adjust as you like.

For a single portion, assemble salad with 1/2 cup farro, a handful of arugula, and 1 carrot (sliced).  Top with feta and then drizzle a tablespoon or so of dressing.  Toss, taste for balance and seasoning, adjust if necessary, and eat!

Mushroom Barley Soup & Broccoli Quinoa

Apparently I'm on a Broccoli Quinoa salad kick, because that's all I seem to be craving recently. I think I like this one better than the last though. I'm a bigger fan of the classic dijon, balsamic, olive oil dressing instead of the broccoli pesto that went on the last one. I think throwing some acid in either a salad or soup (aka vinegar or lemon/lime juice) really just punches up the flavor a lot. So I happily ate this salad two nights in a row, once with this soup that my lovely sister brought over (which is really good, incidentally), and then next night with a soup that I made (recipe below).

Quinoa, Roasted Broccoli, and Arugula Salad with Feta from The Moveable Feast:

Contrary to her directions, I made all kinds of substitutions and changes. I roasted both broccolini and fennel (with salt, pepper, cayenne, red pepper flakes, coriander, & olive oil), and then I also chopped up some green bell pepper and threw it into the salad raw to add some more crunch. I didn't have a lemon in the house, so after contemplating and then rejecting using a lime, I just used a mix of white wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar in the dressing, made with dijon mustard instead of a grainy mustard. I also wanted to make a larger batch, so I used 1 1/2 cups of raw quinoa (cooked in 3 cups of water and a pinch of salt). And with all that, it turned out great.

I think quinoa salads are really quite forgiving. You can pretty well throw anything in there, and it tends to work out quite well.

Before heading out to a concert with some friends, I threw together some soup as well, to make a whole meal, along with some delicious rosemary bread from Trader Joe's.

Mushroom Barley Soup with Rosemary Oil from The Yellow House:

I only had one shallot, so I used that and one onion. I didn't have quite enough mushrooms for the recipe, so I threw in some chopped celery with the shallot and onion, and then sprinkled the chopped celery tops over the soup with the rosemary oil at the end, to add some more green. All in all, it worked out as a nice little dinner before heading out for the night.