Wintery Course-Grained Salad with a Warming, Spicy Dressing

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My family loves this easy, colorful salad; fortifying and warming. Perfect for colder weather. (This is a variation on the “somewhat arabian salad with barley and marinated mushrooms” from Homemade Winter by Yvette Van Boven)

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 Cup (50g) Farro or Barley

  • Salt

 For the Dressing:

  • Juice of 1 lemon

  • 2 cloves garlic minced

  • 1 1/2 Tsp dijon mustard

  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon

  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg

  • 1/4 tsp cardamom

  • 1/4 tsp coriander

  • 1/4 tsp cumin

  • 1/4 tsp fennel seeds

  • 1tsp salt

  • 1/2 olive oil

  • Freshly ground black pepper

For the Salad:

  • 9oz. (250 g) mushrooms cut into quarters

  • 9 oz (250) green beans

  • 2 large carrots, sliced

  • 2/3 cup (150 g) cooked chickpeas, rinsed if from a can

  • 1/3 cup (20g) chopped fresh parsley

  • 1/2 cup (60g) pecan halves, briefly toasted in a dry skillet

Directions:

Make the farro and the dressing:

Rinse the farro throughly in a sieve, place it in a saucepan cover with water by at least 3 inches, and with the lid askew, simmer about 40 min, until tender.  Make sure it does not simmer dry, add water as needed.

While you cook the farro, whisk all the dressing ingredients together except the oil, whisking in the oil at the end to blend it nicely.

Make the salad:

Add the mushrooms to the dressing, and let them marinate until ready to serve.  (if you don’t have much time, quickly sauté them a bit, and then put them in the dressing.)

In a big pot of boiling water:

Blanch the green beans and carrot slices separately for a few min until they are al dente.  Drain and rinse under cold water..  Set the beans aside.  Add the carrot and the chickpeas to the mushrooms in the bowl.

When the farro is done, drain it, rinse with cold water, and add it to the vegetables in the bowl.  Mix well.

Sprinkle the salad with parsley and, if you have time, let it sit for at least 30 min. before serving to allow the flavors to be absorbed.

Just before serving fold the beans and the pecans into the salad.

Enjoy!

NourishmentSuzanne LynchComment