Farro and cucumber-roasted pepper salad

May 19, 2007, 2:53 PM

I'm sure I've said it before, but I think I'll say it again... I don't think I can get enough of farro, or spelt. It doesn't take much to tempt me with farro...

Cooked in a rice cooker, it's easy to throw together on a weeknight.

It's just comfort food, so I never do anything fancy with it... After the berries are cooked, I almost always always mix it with some some variation of caramelized onions/shallots, sauteed carrots, occasional celery, and often a little cream. But what else does farro need? It's like rice, except that it's a bit nutty... it's not a dramatic dish. What can you say about spelt, anyway?

I added some pine nuts when I sauteed the onions, and they toasted up nicely. I also added some Cowgirl Creamery nettle-wrapped St. Pat cheese, which is only available in the springtime. The nettles are just a little prickly-tasting and slightly bitter, but they add some character to a simple creamy cheese.

This time I made a little cucumber salad and roasted cucumbers to go along with the farro. It's tossed with a simple vinaigrette with a really good balsamic vinegar.

I wasn't terribly hungry, so you'll see that this isn't a very large plating. I served it with a small glass of wine. If I had had a larger appetite, I would have had some sort of lentil soup or minestrone or something along that line.

I think I had some ice cream later. I'm so bad.

Farro and cucumber-roasted pepper salad