Farro and Goldenberry Salad

There is a lunch spot in NYC called Digg Inn that has a farro and kumquat mix that I really enjoy and I set out to recreate that here - however I got a bit sidetracked. This salad would work with kumquats or even just orange segments, but I couldn’t find kumquats at the store. While looking for them I ended up seeing goldenberries (which I had never heard of or tasted) and was intrigued - that combined with an excess of scallions from a CSA box lead to this salad. I made it for dinner and had planned to cook other things, but we ended up just devouring this until we were stuffed. It makes dinner for 2, or I imagine a side for four +. The berries themselves are a bit sweet and a lot tangy relatives of tomatoes and tomatillos.

Ingredients:

1 cup farro (dry)

5 whole scallions

7 oz goldenberries

1/4 cup orange juice

2 Tblsp balsamic vinegar

2 Tblsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

pepper to taste

Rinse the farro well, then place it in a saucepan with 3 cups water and a hearty teaspoon of salt. Bring it to a boil on high, then turn it down to a simmer for 20 ish minutes, until tender but not mushy. There should still be a bit of tooth to the grain.

Mix the orange juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and a few grates of fresh ground pepper in a bowl. Trim the roots off the scallions and slice both the green and white bits fairly thinly. Halve the goldenberries. Add the still warm farro, scallions, and goldenberries to a bowl. Toss in the vinaigrette. All done! Delicious right away, and perfect for lunch the next day, this hearty salad couldn’t be simpler.