Farro Salad
Nothing like a salad that comes from a few things that were sitting in the refrigerator from the day before.
This past weekend I felt guilty about all the eggplant that was slowly taking over the refrigerator. Peppers too. I had to do something and tossing them in the trash (although I did consider it) did not seem like an option.
I took all the eggplants (maybe 10 of them of all different sizes) and cut them into big chunks. I also took a few onions and sliced them into thin slices. In a large pan I coated the bottom with olive oil. Then I caramelized the onions before adding in the eggplant. I kept adding a little bit of olive oil so the eggplant did not dry out. Once the eggplant got softer I added in a bunch of thyme and salt. Once this was done I just poured some balsamic vinegar over this for a little zing. Made sure I continued to saute until the liquid was all sopped up. We had some of this one night and then put the rest of the refrigerator.
I took all the peppers, sliced them up (taking out the middle) and put olive oil and salt and roasted them at 350 until just blackened. Served them along with the eggplant. What was left I put them in the refrigerator for the next day.
Next day I took two cups of dried farro and a four cups of water, brought it to a boil and then down to simmer, put a lid on it and let it cook. Check it once in awhile as it needed more water. Once it is done toss in a few splashes of red wine vinegar for taste, and of course salt.
I took the farro, the eggplant mixture, the chopped peppers, a big huge cube of feta cheese cut into chunks and a pint of cherry tomatoes and mixed it all up. Had a ridiculous amount but it appears that after the first night of eating this salad I put it back into the refrigerator for another day. It appears to almost be gone as people are snacking on it or adding it to their lunch.
It is certainly a mix of the refrigerator but it worked. I did not want to forget it so I posted. I even use my blog to remember old recipes.
Comments (Archived):
Love Farro. That and Freekah have become regular staples.
What types of peppers?
red
This is much more creative than what I would have done. I would’ve just roasted the veggies, frozen then, and called it a day (my default way of salvaging almost-gone produce).But this sounds delicious and I shall try this sometime soon!
“and roasted them at 350 until just blackened”Always amazes me how many people don’t get the visual cues of cooking.One of the first things I correlated when cooking was the look of pizza cheese and later how Salmon and other fatty fish ooze when they are done.Other people try to use time but it’s really more of a visual thing where you know it when you see it that what you are cooking is done. Also I do the “steam rising” test – it’s done when you remove it, cut it, and the steam comes up under the light. Or the surface texture etc.
visual is very very key to cooking