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Cooking Light with Farro

I’ll be perfectly honest. I have heard of farro, but really didn’t have a driving need to try it. I have a wide variety of whole grains that I enjoy and on a regular basis, and didn’t have a fire going under me to try more. But then I went and visited that food truck at the farmer’s market and had the best “fast food” from a truck. I now wanted to try farro. I got some from the grains bins at Whole Foods and came home excited to try it out.

But, as usual, I got sidetracked and busy doing other stuff and didn’t make anything with it. Two days later, I sat down and devoured my Cooking Light and guess what it featured? Farro. I couldn’t believe it.

cookinglight

The first recipe called for green beans, fennel, tuna, olives and tomatoes. I had just bought green beans, fennel, and small cherry tomatoes from the farmer’s market so that seemed like the perfect way to use them. I had the olives (the world could come to an end and it will find my pantry with olives. I may have run out of toilet paper once, but I have never run out of black olives!) and bought the recommended Wild Planet tuna. Target carries Wild Planet. I did use the water packed to save some calories.

I had to do a little research to see what farro actually is. It is a grain that is similar in texture to a really chewy rice. In fact, it is often used in the place of rice. It is more abundant in protein than rice. Farro and spelt are often used interchangeably, but they are different.

farro3final

I followed the recipe as close as possible. The only ingredient I left out was green onions.

What you need to have ready:  saucepan for farro, saucepan for green beans, large mixing bowl, cutting board/knife

  • 1/2 cup uncooked whole-grain farro
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
  • 4 cups water
  • 2 cups (2-inch) cut green beans (about 1/2 pound)
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 small garlic clove, minced
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
  • 1 cup very thinly sliced fennel bulb (about 1 small bulb)
  • 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
  • 1/4 cup black olives, coarsely chopped
  • 2 (4.5-ounce) jars sustainable water packed albacore tuna, drained (such as Wild Planet)

     

    1. 1. Combine farro, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 4 cups water in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 60 minutes or until farro is tender but still slightly chewy. Drain. Cool slightly.
    2. 2. While farro cooks, fill another medium saucepan two-thirds full with water; bring to a boil. Add green beans; cook 4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain.
    3. 3. Combine oil, vinegar, juice, mustard, and garlic in a large bowl; stir in the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Add farro, beans, tomatoes, fennel, parsley, olives ; toss well to combine. Flake tuna into large chunks. Add tuna to salad; toss gently to combine.

    dressing farro1

    This was really good! I loved the mixture of textures and I even tolerated the tomatoes. The dressing really brought out the flavors of the fennel. We ate this while it was still warm and it was a great first introduction to the wonders of farro!

    I want to say a big THANK YOU to Cooking Light for promoting my blog and content through their Blogger’s Connection program.

  • Katrina

    Saturday 2nd of June 2012

    Yes! We put this in the fridge and had it 3 days later. I wouldn't keep it longer than 4 days. However, I DID NOT put the tuna with it until we were ready to eat it. I kept the tuna separate from the farro/vegetables.

    Kate

    Thursday 31st of May 2012

    This looks so yummy!

    One question- Would this keep in the fridge? I'd love to make this but I live alone so I'd need to find a way to make it palatable for several days.