Summer Farro Salad

Loaded with crunchy raw zucchini, cucumbers and radishes, juicy tomatoes, buttery walnuts, tart lemon and peanut butter-massaged Italian kale, this Summer Farro Salad is sure to please. You did really read correctly.

Ingredients:

FOR THE DRESSING:

1. 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
2. 1 lemon’s juice
3. One bunch of Italian kale, cut crosswise into thin ribbons
4. a large pinch of fine salt
5. one cup of cooked farro
6. one small zucchini  sliced thinly into circles
7. four thinly sliced radishes
8. one English cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced into half-circles

For the salad.

1. One cup of chopped red or yellow cherry tomatoes, together with freshly ground black pepper and kosher salt
2. Half a cup of toasted pecans, finely chopped

Guidelines:

To prepare the dressing:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, peanut butter, and salt. Slowly whisk in olive oil to emulsify.

To assemble the salad:

1. To prepare the salad, put the kale ribbons in a big bowl, add the salt and two tablespoons of dressing, and massage for one minute, or until the kale is tender and equally covered.
2. Toss to mix in the farro, tomatoes, cucumber, radishes, zucchini and leftover dressing. Add kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Sprinkle toasted pecans on top and serve.

Recipe Suggestions:
This summer salad recipe is a play on a recipe from Bon Appétit magazine and is very flexible in terms of adornment. Although almond butter would be fantastic, I used peanut butter in instead of almond butter and substituted some of the veggies with ones I already had. or butter with hazelnuts!

I need to conduct some experiments.

There are countless possibilities available beyond nut butter types. Utilise what’s on hand or add what appears to be the freshest at the farmers market. Several concepts

• Add small balls of fresh mozzarella, grated Parmesan, or crumbled Feta or Goat cheese for added texture. Or, to keep this salad vegan and dairy free, add avocado or chickpeas.
• To add a little oniony heat, thinly slice a red onion or shallot.
• Slivered fresh basil or chopped fresh parsley would add a lovely herbaceous note.
• To make a gluten free version, use quinoa or oat groats in place of farro.

This makes a very filling dinner for two or can be served as a substantial side dish for four.