Last weekend, while on a jaunt to Napa Valley, I saw a farro
and kale salad on the menu. While I did not try it, the combination intrigued
me, so I set about the make my own version of this healthy dish.
While perusing the produce aisle for ingredients, I found an
organic rainbow kale salad (described as a variety of seasonal kales and
carrots). The green, purple and orange hues were beautiful and intrigued me,
not to mention that the already cleaned and chopped kale would make my job
easier, so I grabbed a tub to use as the base of the salad.
Farro is a staple of my pantry, thanks to Giada DeLaurentis, who makes a farro salad with course
pesto that is scrumptious. Farro is a variety of wheat that originated in the Haute-Savoie region of France, and is also used in
Italian cooking. It has become popular enough that it is now stocked in most of
our local grocery stores.
Then I just got creative, letting my palate
guide me. I decided to roast the kale salad to get a good crisp on it, mixing
it with a bit of olive oil and truffle salt. I just boiled the farro in broth,
and poached a few chicken breasts for added protein. Tossed with some
additional olive oil, some fresh lemon juice and zest, with a good measure of
both parmesan cheese and fresh ground pepper, and we had a healthy one-bowl
meal, with plenty left over for lunches.
(A vegetarian version can be made by replacing chicken broth with
vegetable broth and omitting the chicken. Vegans can omit cheese.)
A week later, I made a slightly different version, adding a half
a slivered onion and a few chopped mushrooms to the kale roast, tossed in some
leftover grilled chicken, and topped it all with a miso dressing. Again, a winning combination.
I’m thinking there are endless variations to this kale
salad, both cooked and uncooked. What would you do with it?
Kale-Farro Salad
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1 cup farro
pinch salt
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
8-ounce bag/clamshell rainbow kale salad
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon truffle salt
1/8 cup olive oil
1/3 cup lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
salt and freshly ground pepper
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Bring broth, water, and a pinch of salt to boil in medium
saucepan, add farro and stir. Cover slightly and cook for 22-25 minutes
stirring occasionally, until liquid is almost completely evaporated.
Meanwhile, poach 2 chicken breasts in water. Depending upon
size of breasts, this should take 20-25 minutes.
Place kale salad in roasting pan, toss with 2 tablespoons
olive oil and sprinkle with truffle salt. Roast in oven for 20-25 minutes,
stirring every 5 minutes, until you’ve got some of the kale nicely browned.
Shred or chop chicken and add to farro. Add in roasted kale salad,
1/8 cup olive oil, lemon juice and zest, and parmesan cheese. Toss well. Season
with salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste.
Serve immediately for a warm salad or refrigerate for an
hour or more and serve cold.