Skip to main content

Farro Salad with Strawberries, Bacon, and Pepitas

Next time maybe I'll put the seeds under the bacon so they meld more with the farro?


I came to this recipe in a circular pattern of events, and it is one of my new favorites. It started with lunch at the fantastic Camas Country Mill, which is a magical place with magical bread and, on that visit, this magical salad. I loved it so much and I thought about trying to make it at home, but I wasn't sure where to start with the dressing and also I've never cooked farro, so I was willing to leave it as a magical memory and hope to see it again on a future return.

Except the pepitas. Miles ate many of them off of my salad and he loved them so much that he asked me to buy some. So I bought a big tub of pepitas the next day. And in true toddler fashion, by the next day he didn't like them anymore. 

This led to a Pinterest search for recipes involving pepitas. And what did I find before my very eyes? This salad from food52. Now, maybe they stole it from Camas Country Mill, but I suspect it was the other way around. So some of the magic is gone, but on the plus side, I can now make it at home.

I set my expectations low, because I figured I could never craft anything as delicious as the salad I'd eaten at the mill, but it was just as good! Maybe even a little bit better because I put lots and lots of fresh strawberries in. This is the perfect recipe to show off good produce after a trip to the farmer's market.

My changes from the Food52 recipe are as follows: I used a baby greens salad mix instead of kale because I'd just gotten an amazing mix from Groundwork Organics. I loved it, and I think I'd do this again or use arugula, or maybe baby spinach, before I'd turn to kale. I didn't make the pepitas spicy, because I wanted to simplify. Yes, some added spice would be delicious, but it wasn't necessary. And I used some purple garlic from my garden instead of shallot because there were no shallots at the farmer's market when I was shopping, but the dressing turned out so well that I think I'll keep this change when I have good garlic on hand.


The Recipe:
1c dry farro, cooked according to instructions on package
arugula, baby spinach, or other salad greens
strawberries
roasted, salted pepitas (or follow food52's instructions to coat them in chili powder)
1 package bacon, cooked
1 small shallot or 2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lemon, zested and juiced
2 tb olive oil
sea salt to taste
  • Whisk or blend lemon juice, olive oil, garlic/shallot, and sea salt until oil emulsifies. Mix in lemon zest.
  • Toss farro with half of the dressing as soon as it is cooked. Toss greens with the other half.
  • Layer dressed greens, dressed farro, pepitas, bacon, and strawberries.
  • NOTE TO FUTURE SELF: Try basil and/or black sesame seeds on top.

The Verdict:
Overall grade: A++
Overall reason: Seriously, it's amazing. And healthy-ish. And not hard to make.
Time to prepare: If the bacon is cooked ahead of time, 30 minutes. Or about 8 minutes with a package of pre-cooked farro.
Husband quote: He got roped into a last-minute business dinner. His loss. Will update when he gets to taste it.




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kitchen renovation!

BEFORE: AFTER: Still to come: a beautiful new induction range and some wood shelving on the left side, above the backsplash. And maybe the shelving unit on the wall facing the cabinets should be green, but we're going to live with a while before making that decision.
2 comments
Read more

Curry Fried Rice

Excited for these leftovers. One of the things I wanted to try with my  new jar of curry powder  was fried rice. Years ago, Miles got fried rice at  Korea House  and it was the best fried rice I'd ever had. I suspected there was curry powder in it, but at that time I had never really cooked with curry powder, so I tucked that knowledge away for a later date. After reading a few recipes, I went rogue on this one. I couldn't even begin to effectively guess at what proportions I ended up with, so the recipe below is more of a rough guideline of ingredients. The "Recipe" (sorry no quantities; follow your heart): leftover jasmine rice tofu, cubed and crisped in the oven with avocado oil and salt vegetables: garlic, onion, cabbage, red bell pepper salt curry powder (I used a Vietnamese one) soy sauce sugar sesame oil future topping ideas: runny egg, sesame seeds, green onion Saute the vegetables in avocado oil until softened, and salt them to taste Add the tofu and toss to...
Post a Comment
Read more

Samosa Burritos

Imagine a pile of plain yogurt and some Indian pickle for dipping I saw a Pinterest recipe for samosa-filled quesadillas, which led me to  this recipe  from Nadia's Healthy Kitchen for baked samosas using tortillas, which led me to just use the giant tortillas I had in the fridge and make them into full-sized burritos. They were a hit! I largely followed the recipe from Nadia's Healthy Kitchen, but I added some potato, omitted the chana masala powder and just added a bunch of cumin instead, added bell pepper and fresh chilies, didn't bother with the "sealing paste," and basted them in a little bit of melted butter (omit for vegan version). Everyone except the 5-year-old liked them! The Recipe (adapted from  Nadia's Healthy Kitchen ) 2 cans (30 oz total) cooked garbanzo beans, rinsed (I eyeballed the equivalent from dry beans) 1 small onion, chopped 4 garlic cloves, minced 1 thai chili, minced 1 bell pepper, chopped 1 potato, baked until soft (or microwaved for...
Post a Comment
Read more