Farro Salad

I just made this salad today. I didn’t have golden raisins, but dark raisins work, too.

A daily staple in ancient Rome for thousands of years, Farro was also consumed throughout the Mediterranean and Middle East. It is still a popular grain and recently making a resurgence in swanky American restaurants.

Farro is in the wheat family and it is believed farro may be the “mother” of all wheat. It contains lots of goodies (high fiber, protein and iron) and has a delicious nutty flavor and chewy consistency. It is excellent in salads, soups, and mixed with vegetable stir-fries or other side dishes.

Here’s a recipe my good friend Debby V. gave me, which I love–perfect balance of salty and sweet.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups Farro
1 cup chopped walnuts, lightly toasted
2 1/2 cups pitted green olives, preferably Castelvetrano; chopped
4 scallions, white and light green parts only, finely chopped
1/3 cup snipped chives
2 Tbsp. golden raisins (I used 4 Tbsp.)
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper (I used 1/4 tsp. white pepper and 1/2 tsp. ground West Indian Pink Peppercorn–any pepper combo would work well.)
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp. honey
Sea salt to taste (But use cautiously as both the olives and cheese are already salty.)
Shaved Pecorino cheese for serving (I used Parmesan.)

I bought these Castelvetrono Olives online, but you could probably get them at Trader Joes or other similar stores. Note, the word, WHOLE. Make sure you buy them pitted!

To find recipe for Poached Salmon, go to:
http://cookwithcindy.blogspot.com/search?q=Poached+salmon

In the above recipe I used wild Coho Salmon versus a high-quality farm-raised Scottish salmon pictured below.

Poached Salmon with a creamy lemon sauce on a bed of spinach and cherry tomatoes were the perfect complement to the Farro Salad. I dressed the greens with a citrus vinaigrette.

LEMON CREAM SAUCE
Ingredients: