Farro with Fruit and Greens (Peach Balsamic, Jalapeno Olive Oil)

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Side Dish Club recipes were designed to be produced by weight in grams so that nutrition information could be calculated so you will need a scale to replicate them.

Each recipe produces four servings for a side dish next to a main dish. This size is 115 grams or about 4 ounces (1/4 lb) in weight and about 3/4 cup in volume. For a full meal, you would double the serving size, and this recipe would produce two.

Farro is a whole ancient grain that is packed with nutrients and as nutty flavor and texture. The crisp green and golden plums and pluots at the farmers market that are sooo sweet and eaten when they are slightly crisp like apples totally inspired this dish. They are seasonal and typically found at open air markets.

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What you will need:

  • Farro - Bob’s Red Mill is our “go to” for grains.

  • Crisp ripe golden or green plums or pluots. If you cannot find them, perhaps subsitute some sweet honey crisp apples. Do not use purple plums that need to soften to be sweet.

  • Fresh blueberries. Try to get organic if you can as blueberries are one of the fruits known to test high for pesticides. Make sure they not mushy or moldy but firm with a good dark blue color. One tray should be plenty.

  • Arugula. We love it spicy so if you can get a fresh bunch with lots of spice, go for it!

  • Italian Parsley , a small bunch.

  • One other green for variety. We made this with purslane but this is very seasonal and hard to find. Try some watercress or as a last resort baby kale.

  • Aged white cheddar. We get a block at Costco and have no trouble finding other uses for this sharp cheese.

  • Raw Pecans - a handful

  • Better Than Boullion (Vegetable or Chicken) - Better than Boullion is used in many side dish club recipes. We love it because it tastes super fresh and you can get it in low-salt versions which we prefer since these days almost everything is over salted. You can use either chicken or vegetable broth for this recipe depending on the flavor profile you prefer. We generally like to use chicken, but that is not a good option for vegetarians. To read more about this product, here is a link to the website for Better Than Boullion.

  • Peach White Balsamic Vinegar

  • Jalapeno Olive Oil

  • EVOO

Cook the farro.

Measure out (see next section on measuring) 100 grams of farrow. Cook in accordance with package instructions, but add 1 Tablespoon of Better than Boullion to the warm cooking water. Make sure to stir in the boullion until it is dissolved in the water before adding the farro or you will get sections of farro with all of the boullion and some with none … yuck!

Once your farro is cooked, measure out 100 grams and set it aside to cool in the refrigerator. It is not a perfect estimation of how much raw farro it takes to produce a certain amount of cooked farro so you may end up with a little extra.

Wash fruit and greens and set out to dry.

I always thoroughly wash my fruit and veggies to extend shelf life. I create a vinegar wash (about 1 cup of white vinegar to a gallon of water) and place the fruit or veggies into the vinegar wash for about 5 minutes before rinsing. This is just “me” as I worry about germs on fresh veggies. But the vinegar wash is certainly optional.

Let your fruit sit in the vinegar bath for a few minutes and then rinse. Process your greens by removing an excess stems and place them in the vinegar bath for about 5 minutes. Rinse them and then spin them in a salad spinner. You can use the same vinegar water for all of the veggies unless it gets very dirty.

Make sure to dry fruit and veggies before using. You want to avoid using wet ones because the water on them will water down your dressing and thus your flavor. Lay them out on a towel to dry. If you want to accelerate the drying, you can put a fan set on low to blow are over them or pat them dry.

Prepare and measure your other ingredients.

For measuring I suggest the following:

  • Set your scale on the counter and turn it on.

  • Make sure it is set to grams.

  • Set a large bowl on the side to hold all of your measured ingredients.

  • Set a smaller container on the scale to collect your individual ingredients

  • Tare out the scale to remove the weight of the container on the scale.

Next …

  • Blueberries: Put blueberries into the bowl on the scale until you have about 40 grams (it will vary as each blueberry weighs much more than a gram) and then put them into the larger bowl. Replace the empty bowl onto the scale and re-tare so the scale shows zero.

  • Plums, pluots or substitute: Leave skin on. Cut into bite sized pieces and put into the bowl on the scale until you have about 138 grams and then put them into the larger bowl. Replace the empty bowl onto the scale and re-tare so the scale shows zero.

  • Argula: Chop lightly and place into the bowl on the scale until you have 27 grams and put into the larger bowl. Return the smaller bowl to the scale and re-tare the scale.

  • Other green e.g. purslane, watercress or baby kale: Chop lightly and place into the bowl on the scale until you have 16 grams and put into the larger bowl. Return the smaller bowl to the scale and re-tare the scale.

  • Italian parsley: Chop thoroughly and place into the bowl on the scale until you have 7 grams and put into the larger bowl. Return the smaller bowl to the scale and re-tare the scale.

  • Pecans: Chop thoroughly and place into the bowl on the scale until you have 21 grams and put into the larger bowl. Return the smaller bowl to the scale and re-tare the scale.

  • Aged white cheddar: Grate cheese and place into the bowl on the scale until you have 28 grams and set aside to add later

Make your dressing.

  • Place a medium size mixing bowl on the scale.

  • Pour in 29 grams of peach white balsamic vinegar

  • Pour in 10 grams of jalapeno olive oil

  • Pour in 5 grams of EVOO

  • Note: if you like spicy, skip the EVOO and use 15 grams of jalapeno olive oil!

  • Remove bowl from scale and whisk using a wire whisk briskly until ingredients are fully emulsified, i.e. thick, creamy, and not separating.

  • (Note that I tend to go light on dressing. Many side dish customers wanted a little more dressing and for them I would add extra on the side. For the dressing rich flavor increase the amount of each ingredient by 50%. Just note that this will affect the nutrition information.)

Assemble your side dish.

By now your farro should be nice and cool, so it is time to bring all of the ingredients together.

  • Mix the dressing into your farro until thoroughly mixed. This ensures that the dressing is fully distributed before adding the other ingredients.

  • Add in all of the other ingredients and mix or toss lightly so that everything is well distributed.

  • Add the cheddar cheese and toss lightly.

  • Garnish with a sprig of fresh parsley when serving.

Nutrition info.

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