Parsley and Farro Salad

I have been wanting to cook with again since I made the farro risotto.  I feel like I see it popping up in recipes, blogs, and restaurants all the time but had never tried my hand at cooking it.  A few weeks ago I decided I would test it out and went to the grocery... no farro anywhere!  After looking quite a few places I gave up.  Then last week while at Trader Joe's in Florida with Nick's mom I found some!  It was pre-cooked or instant farro so I thought it was a great way to test it out.  It's super simple to make, basically the same preparation as rice.  Put in boiling water, cook until done, fluff with fork.  

If you haven't had farro before it's like brown rice and barley had a baby.  Nice chewy texture and a mild flavor.  It's just begging to have some herbs and dressing added to it for a nice rice pilaf-esque side dish.  Here I decided to add basically a honey-Dijon vinaigrette and a lot of fresh parsley.  While it was delicious I found a recipe later in a magazine for a risotto made with farro and I'm definitely going to give that a try next. I think the flavor and texture of the farro will be absolutely perfect in a risotto... oh the possibilities of learning to use a new food :)

Here I serve it with the Honey Mustard Pecan Crusted Salmon I previously made.  The two dishes share lots of similar flavors (both have Dijon, honey, and parsley) so they pair together fantastically.  It's a nice light dinner with tons of satisfying flavor.  They them together for dinner and I promise you won't regret it!

Honey Mustard and Pecan Crusted Salmon

Farro Risotto with Burst Tomatoes

Shrimp and White Bean Stew

Ingredients

yields 4 servings

1 (8 oz) package farro or pre-cooked farro

1 1/2 T. lemon juice

1 T. olive oil

2 t. Dijon mustard

2 t. honey

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

1/2 cup parsley, chopped

Directions
(1) Prepare farro according to instructions on the package.

(2) Combine lemon juice, olive oil, Dijon mustard, honey, salt, and pepper in a small mixing bowl and whisk to combine.

(3) Toss the finished farro with the lemon juice mixture.  Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley.  Serve warm or cold.