Meal-size salads - RecipeTin Eats

Tzatziki Chickpea Salad

Nagi — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 06:23:12 +0000

Think of this Chickpea Salad as a better-for-you potato salad, with a fresh Greek edge. Except – it can do so much more! Chickpeas toss with tzatziki dressing, use this to make protein-laden salad bowls, super-food sandwiches, serve as a side or scoop with crackers.

Tzatziki Chickpea Salad

Whether you think of this as chickpeas hidden in tzatziki, or tzatziki filled out with chickpeas, this big unassuming bowl of little white blobs is going to take you by surprise. It is really, really tasty. Which, given it’s made using canned chickpeas and we don’t “do anything” to them (like braise in a flavoured liquid or marinate them), is saying something from someone who wants to eat more legumes but is regularly disappointed by attempts to turn them into a simple tasty meal.

But this! It’s so good! Excellent side dish (I treat it like potato salad, great one to take to picnics) or blank canvass for so much more, from salads to scooping with crackers to stuffing into bread rolls.

Big bowl of little white blobs (chickpeas with tzatziki). It looks like more tzatziki than there is because there’s extra shredded cucumber and finely sliced celery in there which is not very visible.

All the ways you can enjoy this

I’ve popped a full section of all sorts of ways to eat this in a section below (lengthier than you would expect, so many ideas!). But to give you some initial inspiration, here it is in a protein-loaded meal-worthy-salad form, with some canned tuna. Mix it all up so it’s jumbled together, and eat with a spoon. Such great warm weather food!

And here it is, in Chickpea Salad Sandwich form, with smushed avocado on the base which kind of acts like a “glue” to keep more of the chickpeas in place. This was really, really good. So satisfying, and so moreish!

There’s plenty more ideas in the section below, so for now, let me show you how simple this is to make. And if you’re already thinking – ugh, do I have to buy a whole bunch of dill just for this??! The answer is – highly recommended, but I have alternatives. Tried and approved!

Ingredients in Tzatziki Chickpea Salad

Tzatziki ingredients + canned chickpeas + a bit of desirable crunch from celery + much needed briny pops from capers = simple, yet oh-so-good!

Chickpeas – I use canned for convenience though it’s extra good if you cook your own chickpeas because it’s got a firmness to it that you never get with canned chickpeas. I’ve popped directions in the recipe notes.
Celery – Finely sliced, for a bit of crunch which I felt this needed. I also like that because it’s pale green, you can barely see it in the salad. You could substitute with finely sliced cucumber (for a double cucumber hit!!).
Capers – This adds tang, freshness and salt so it kind of does the work of what a handful of other ingredients would do, like red onion or green onion which I’d ordinarily include for some freshness. Great shortcut here because you don’t need much (just 2 tablespoons), and melds nicely into the tzatziki!

Yogurt – Greek yogurt is best (thicker, richer), else a Greek style yogurt or a plain unsweetened yogurt.
Cucumbers – You need 2 regular cucumbers about 18cm / 7″ long, or one long Telegraph/English cucumber about 30cm / 12″ long. Goal:3/4 cup cucumber after shredding and squeezing out the excess water.
Lemon juice – For a touch of fresh tang.
Extra virgin olive oil – I use a little more in this recipe than I use when making regular tzatziki, so it’s got an edge of dressing-like richness (because this is intended to be a salad).
Fresh dill – This really elevates this dish, so highly recommended! Mint is also terrific, though use about half the quantity. If you don’t have either or they are outrageously priced, substitute with green onion plus garlic and onion powder which gives it a ranch-dressing edge instead.
Garlic – It’s not tzatziki without garlic! Use one large clove or 2 regular size ones.

How to make Tzatziki Chickpea Salad

Really try to squeeze as much water as you can out of the cucumber else it will dilute the tzatziki and make it watery.

Grate the cucumber using a standard box grater.
Squeeze as much water as you can out of the cucumber. I use a tea towel but you can use your hands, working one small handful at a time.

Quantity – We wanted 3/4 to 1 cup cucumber after the water has been squeezed out. Slightly more that what I use for tzatziki so it makes it a little chunkier which is a deliberate choice because this recipe is intended to be a salad.
Put all the tzatziki ingredients in a large bowl (cucumber, yogurt, dill, capers, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper).

Mix until combined.
Chickpeas – Then add the chickpeas and celery and mix it through.
Then that’s it! You can eat it straight away though I like to leave it for at least 1 hour to let the flavours meld (the flavour of the capers and garlic spreads throughout the yogurt better) and it’s even better the next day.

How I eat this Tzatziki Chickpea Salad

I treat this as a side dish that goes with just about any protein (chicken, pork, fish, prawns/shrimp, lamb) and a blank canvas for so much more! Here are some ideas:

Side-dish – Serve it like you would a potato salad. Except, point out to the eaters that it’s better for you! 😂 No mayo, and more nutritional value in the chickpeas than potato. Also, this is a two-in-one that combines both starch (chickpeas) and a respectable amount of greens (cucumbers and celery);
Meal salad (see photo at top) – Add canned tuna, boiled egg, or sliced, chopped or shredded poached chicken for a protein loaded good-for-you meal that will keep you feeling full (thank you Mr Chickpeas!);
Chickpea salad sandwich (see photo at top) – It’s so good! I like to add some avocado which kind of acts like a glue to keep the chickpeas in place. Try this in a wrap (you’ll see me do this in the video), bread rolls (see photo above) or yes! Regular bread slices will work as well!
Dipping/scooping – I can totally see myself serving this as a chunky salsa-style dip for scooping with crackers, or pinching with torn up pieces of Lebanese bread.
Piling – Imagine serving this on a bed of finely shredded lettuce, aka vegetarian prawn cocktail style. I see it, and think it would be delicious!
Fill out Chicken Gyros or Shawarma wraps – Add this to your DIY gyros/shawarma wraps spread for people to roll up with the grilled marinated chicken, to fill it out and add extra texture with a built-in tzatziki sauce!
Chickpea pasta salad – This chickpea salad is generous on the sauce because it’s bulked out with so much shredded cucumber. Which means it could be stretched out to make an a great volume of food by tossing it through cooked pasta. Think – Greek Chickpea Pasta Salad. Yes! (PS Be sure to cook the pasta in salted water and cook it beyond al dente, see my big, easy pasta salad for ramblings on this topic).

Wow. Who knew a humble chickpea salad could do so much. 🙂 I hope you love it! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

Tzatziki Chickpea Salad

Recipe video above. Think of this Chickpea Salad as a better-for-you potato salad. Except – it can do so much more! Chickpeas mixed with an extra chunky tzatziki dressing, use this to make protein-laden salad bowls, super-food sandwiches, serve as a side or scoop with crackers.

Course Salad, Salad meal, Side, Side Salad

Cuisine Greek(ish), Western

Keyword chickpea salad

Prep Time 12

Flavour developing time 1

Total Time 1 12

Servings – 8

Calories 367cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

Tzatziki:

2 cucumbers , grated using a box grater, excess water squeezed out very well (3/4 cup once squeezed)
1 1/4 cups Greek yogurt (or thick plain yogurt)
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil , plus extra for drizzling
1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh dill , plus extra for sprinkling, or half the quantity chopped fresh mint (Note 1)
1 large garlic clove , crushed using garlic press , finely grate or very finely minced using a knife
1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt

Salad:

2 x 400g / 14 oz cans chickpeas , well drained (Note 2 for dried)
3/4 cup finely sliced celery (1 – 2 stems)
2 tbsp chopped capers (sub cornichons or dill pickles)

Cups – Metric

Instructions

Mix – Put the Tzatziki ingredients in a big bowl and mix. Add the chickpeas, celery and capers, mix again.
Wait 1 hour – You can eat it straight away but it's better if you can set aside for at least 1 hour to let the flavours meld (especially salt from capers & the garlic). It's even better the next day. Give it a taste and add a pinch of extra salt if needed (capers saltiness can differ).
Serve drizzled with extra olive oil and extra dill. Dive in!

Ways to eat it:

As a side salad or salad meal, stuffed into sandwiches/wraps (+ avocado, good "glue"), add chicken or canned tuna for protein-boost salad meal.

Notes

1. Fresh dill – This really elevates this dish, so highly recommended! Mint is also excellent, but use half the quantity. Though if you don’t fresh herbs or it’s outrageously priced, substitute with green onion plus garlic and onion powder which gives it a ranch-dressing edge instead.

2. Dried chickpeas – Use 1 2/3 cups dried chickpeas (280g). Soak 8 – 24 hours in water, drain, simmer in salted water for 30 minutes for firm (my preference) or 60 minutes for soft. Use cool.

Leftovers keeps for 3 days and honestly, it gets better and better as the flavours meld! Give it a good mix, and let it de-chill for 15 minutes or so before serving.

Servings – With some protein, it will serve 4 as a meal or 8 as a side dish (like you would potato salad).

Nutrition per serving assuming 8 servings as a side dish.

Nutrition

Chickpeas – small but mighty!

Here are some of my favourite ways to use them.

Lamb Shawarma Chickpea Soup

Brazilian Coconut Chickpea Curry

Greek Marinated Chickpea Salad

Antipasto Chickpea Salad

Chorizo chickpea stew (quick!)

Chickpea Rice Pilaf

Middle Eastern Chickpea Salad

Life of Dozer

We’re a month away from my new cookbook TONIGHT landing on your doorstep (if you pre-ordered!) and hitting bookstores! The first copies have landed, so this means Dozer’s work schedule is starting to get busy…..

Here we are yesterday, signing a bunch of advance copies that are being sent out to journalists and media outlets, which of course includes a big fat Dozer paw print stamp.

Because TONIGHT is launching around the same time in the US, Canada, UK, Australia and NZ, we’ll be doing media copies of all these editions.

I also recorded some scripts for marketing purposes that are being used for….hmm, actually, I’m not sure what it’s being used for! Really, I just got a kick out of having Dozer in a recording studio. 😂

The next author who uses these headphones might be treated to some golden fluff in their ear. 😂

Honestly, who would’ve thought this Discount Dog would be experiencing things like this. (50% off! I got him 50% off!! Bargain of my life.)

And at the end of the day, a well earned rest. “No dogs on the couch” rule was temporarily lifted. He earned it! 😂

I have a fun little home movie of Dozer’s day at my publishers’ office. I’ll share it in the next recipe! ~ Nagi x

The post Tzatziki Chickpea Salad appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

Mediterranean tuna salad with creamy feta dressing

Nagi — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 06:00:00 +0000

A tuna salad unlike any other you’ve had before! Tabbouleh vibes with a creamy feta dressing, loaded with bright Mediterranean favourites like lemon, olives, tomato, cucumber and red radish. Eat in a bowl with a spoon. Or stuff into pita bread. SO GOOD!

What I really love about this salad: Chopping everything up so the salad has a spoon-able tabbouleh-like texture that acts like a mop for the creamy-lemony feta dressing. So you get a bit of everything in every single mouthful!

Mediterranean tuna salad

This is one of those recipes that was created with a specific goal: to make a healthy salad using canned tuna that was actually, properly I want to eat that tasty, not just meh, ok, I guess I have to make do with the canned tuna type meal, or even worse – but it’s healthy, so I’ll suffer through something bland.

No. I can’t. I just can’t sacrifice enjoyment of meals for the sake of low calorie eating. Life is too short to eat miserably, even for skinny jeans!

But, really tasty meals that also happen to be low carb, gluten-free, low calorie and economical are special.

Today’s Mediterranean Tuna Salad is one such recipe. I hope you love it as much as I do!

Ingredients for this Mediterranean tuna salad

Think: a loaded tabbouleh. Except with tuna, a creamy feta dressing, added bulk and nutritional goodness from kale, plus olives, capsicum and red radish.

Hmmm…reading that back, it really doesn’t sound similar to tabbouleh at all! But you get my drift. It has a tabbouleh like spoon-able texture. But it’s more substantial so you can have it as a meal.

THE CREAMy FETA DRESSING

This salad gets good flavour from the tuna tumbled all throughout so the dressing itself doesn’t need a ton of ingredients. Also, the feta does a lot of heavy lifting here!

Danish feta – This is the creamy type of feta. The texture is halfway between a crumbly Greek feta and soft goats cheese. It crumbles but in a smeary way and it can be used to toss through salads but also easily purees into a creamy dressing.
If using Greek feta, the more crumbly type (ie your fingers don’t get smeary when you crumble it), the dressing will take a little more blitzing effort to make it smooth and a dollop of yogurt to help make it creamy wouldn’t go astray either.
Lemon juice – Fresh and tangy! The dressing is bright and tangy, reminiscent of tabbouleh but not as sharp (tabbouleh is usually just lemon). The lemon tang offsets the creaminess of the feta.
Extra virgin olive oil – The better the quality, the better the flavour!
Salt and pepper – For seasoning.

CANNED TUNA – CHOOSING

Not all tuna is created equal and not all tuna is sourced responsibly!

Use a tuna in olive oil for a tastier option, and choose:

best – skipjack tuna pole and line caught
acceptable – FAD-free purse seine caught skipjack tuna (most common at large Australian grocery stores)

Do not buy bluefin and big eye tuna (endangered), or tuna that is caught using FADs with purse seine nets, gillnetting and longlining (high cost to marine life). Opt for skipjack tuna, and eat less albacore and yellowfin tuna.

Check the canned tuna label to determine tuna species and fishing method. For recommended brands and more information on choosing responsible canned tuna, read this post: Choosing sustainable canned tuna.

THE SALAD STUFF

OK! And lastly the leafy green and vegetable stuff that goes inside this tuna salad. Pro tip: Curly kale is easy to chop into little pieces because it practically “self crumbles” once you start chopping!

Kale – I use curly kale in this salad because it’s easier to chop into little pieces thanks to the shape of leaf which lends itself to “crumbling” as you chop (as long as it’s fresh and perky not old and floppy). However, tuscan kale (aka cavolo nero/black or lacinato kale) can be used in a pinch.
Other options – baby spinach, cabbage or other greens sturdy enough to finely chop.
Red radish – For perky freshness and lovely little pops of pink! Substitute with red onion or green onion.
Red capsicum – A medium or large size one. Yellow would also be great and add to the kaleidoscope of colour here!
Tomatoes – Unlike many salads where tomato is chopped into small pieces, we are not deseeding it today. Scrape all the watery seeds into the salad – it forms part of the “dressing”!
Kalamata olives – Whole pitted olives that we will cut into four pieces. I like doing that because you get these little juicy briny bits of olives littered throughout the salad. Pre-sliced olives don’t have quite the same meaty little bite to it, though you can absolutely use it for convenience.
Parsley – For herby freshness, and a nod to the tabbouleh-aspiration.
Cucumber – I use what we call Lebanese cucumbers here, the ones that are around 18cm / 7″ long. If you are using the long telegraph cucumbers (about 30cm / 12″ long), you’ll need just over half.

How to make this fabulous tuna salad

One of the more technical recipes on this website:

Blitz the dressing
Toss everything together

(Forgive me, sometimes I have to find ways to amuse myself during long days working at home alone!😂)

1. MAKE Creamy feta dressing

I find it easiest to use a stick blender for this dressing. There’s not enough volume to use a regular size food processor though a small one would work. A blender is a bit of a pain for small volume creamy dressings, I find. Too hard to scrap it all out.

Blitz the feta, lemon, oil, salt and pepper until smooth.
Adjust the thickness if needed using a teaspoon of water at a time. Goal: Thick drizzle-able consistency. ⚠️ Don’t make it too watery because the juices from the vegetables will dilute the dressing when it all gets tossed together.

2. TOSS SALAD

I haven’t included step photos for chopping the vegetables because it doesn’t really matter what shape or how you chop them, as long as they are small spoon-able size. However, I demo the vegetable chopping in the recipe video below.

Toss in stages – Put the kale, capsicum, tomato (scrape in all the juices too), cucumber, radish and olives. Pour over all the dressing and toss well. Crumble in the feta and toss again – it will smear which is a good thing!
Tuna chunks – Then add the tuna. Break it up gently into chunks as you gently toss it through. I personally like having chunks rather than tiny crumbly bits of tuna which is why I add the tuna last.

And you’re done – time to eat!

Ways to eat this tuna salad

It’s pretty well documented in the decade of recipes contained on this website that I’m a big fan of salads you can eat with a spoon rather than a knife and fork (proof here and here and here). Somehow just makes salads seem more satisfying as a meal, rather than a bowl of wimpy leafy greens that has me reaching into the cookie jar half an hour after dinner. (I can literally *hear* my mother rolling her eyes as she reads this, telling me to grow up! 😂)

Anyway, all that was leading to the ground-breaking instruction to serve this salad in a bowl and eat it with a spoon.

Or – stuff it into pita pockets for the best tuna sandwich of your life. – Nagi x

PS Mmmm, that might be a bit of an excessively grandiose statement! Let’s say it’s equal best with the classic Tuna Sandwich. I have a very big soft spot for that one. And also see below the recipe card for some more canned tuna recipe options that I’m proud to say all continue to receive rave reviews, even from canned tuna skeptics! 😇

Watch how to make it

Mediterranean tuna salad with creamy feta dressing

Recipe video above. A tuna salad unlike any other you've had before! Tabbouleh vibes with a creamy feta dressing, loaded with bright Mediterranean favourites like lemon, olives, tomato, cucumber and red radish. Eat in a bowl with a spoon. Or stuff into pita bread. SO GOOD!

Low cal, nutritious, low carb, economical, filling and outstandingly delicious. It's a home run!

Course Lunch, Main, Side

Cuisine Mediterranean

Keyword canned tuna recipe, mediterranean salad, Tuna Salad

Servings – 4

Calories 421cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

Salad:

3 tightly packed cups finely chopped curly kale (~6 – 7 kale stems, yes really!) (Note 1)
2 tomatoes , chopped into 1 cm / 1/3″ squares (use the juices too!)
1 red capsicum / bell pepper , chopped into 8mm / 1/3″ squares
1 cucumber , cut lengthwise into 6 or 8 wedges, the chopped into 8mm/1/3″ pieces
1 cup roughly chopped parsley leaves
8 red radish , chopped into 8mm / 1/3″ squares (sub 1 small red onion or 2 green onion stems)
1/2 cup whole pitted kalamata olives , cut into quarters
50g/ 1.5 oz Danish feta (the creamy sort, not crumbly Greek feta) (Note 2)
425g/ 15 oz canned tuna in oil , drained (Note 3, choose responsibly)

Dressing:

100g/ 3.5 oz Danish feta (Note 2)
3 tbsp lemon juice
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 small garlic clove
1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp water , if needed

Serving option:

Pita bread pockets , warmed, cut in half
Also see Dressing extra flavour options (Note 4)

Instructions

Dressing – Put all the ingredients EXCEPT the water in a jug just large enough to fit the head of a stick blender. Blitz until smooth. Add water 1 tsp at a time until it's a thick drizzle-able consistency (don't dilute flavour too much). Then taste and add more salt if needed (feta saltiness varies by brand).
Salad – Place all the salad ingredients EXCEPT the feta and tuna in a large bowl. Pour over the dressing, toss. Crumble feta in, toss (it will smear – we like!). Add the tuna and gently toss, trying to keep some chunks rather than it all crumbling into tiny pieces.
Taste and add more lemon if desired (I enjoy this on the tart side – tuna can take it!).
Serve in bowls with spoons for digging in! Tuck warm pita pockets on the side, or use the tuna salad to stuff inside the pita (it's sooooo good!).

Notes

1. Kale – Goal here is to chop it up like you would parsley for tabbouleh or garnishing! Curly kale is easier to chop because the shape of leaf lends itself to “crumbling” (as long as it’s fresh and perky, not old and floppy). However, tuscan kale (aka cavolo nero/black or lacinato kale – photo here) can be used in a pinch.

Finely chopped kale (watch video) – Grab the base of the kale stem and run your hand up the stem to strip the leaves off. Discard tough stem (or add to vegetable stock). Bundle the kale leaves tightly then finely chop like you would parsley leaves! I run my knife through to cut finely into strips, then I chop 90° the other way. Or – use your food processor 🙂 (Though the pieces will get a little smaller). To measure, pack tightly into cups. You really will need 5 large or 6 to 7 medium stems!

Substitute – baby spinach, cabbage or other greens sturdy enough to finely chop.

2. Danish feta – the creamy type, blends effortlessly into a creamy dressing. If using Greek feta, the dressing will take a little more blitzing effort to make it smooth and a dollop of yogurt to help make it creamy wouldn’t go astray either.

3. Tuna in oil is tastier than tuna in brine / spring water!

Sustainable choices – read the can label and opt for: skipjack tuna that is pole and line caught ie no nets (best) or FAD-free (next best). Avoid: Bluefin and bigeye tuna. Eat less: Yellowfin and albacore. See Choosing Sustainable Canned Tuna for my guide.

4. Extra flavouring options – This salad gets flavour and salt from tuna so the dressing doesn’t need wild flavours. If you want to use this dressing on a side salad, suggest adding one or all these options to give it a flavour boost (else you might find it a little plain):

2 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
1/8 – 1/4 tsp finely chopped garlic (use with caution, raw garlic flavour can be harsh)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
Extra salt

Leftovers holds up well for 2 days because kale doesn’t turn into a soggy mess even once dressed. It does get a little watery though (from tomato and cucumber juices) so if you intend to make ahead or keep leftovers, I would add a little extra feta in the dressing and skip the water to make it thicker (like mayo consistency) to anticipate the dilution.

Nutrition per serving for 4 people.

Nutrition

For canned tuna skeptics

Read the rave reviews! So many skeptics converted!

The most amazing canned tuna pasta

Tuna Mornay (Tuna Casserole Pasta Bake)

Tuna sandwich

Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice (Nobu)

Nicoise Salad (French Salad with Tuna)

Tuna Pasta Bake

Canned tuna recipes

Life of Dozer

You’d swear they were big hunks of beef, the way he was eyeing off those (un-opened) cans. 😂

The post Mediterranean tuna salad with creamy feta dressing appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

The most amazing Chicken Kale Salad

Nagi — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 06:42:08 +0000

A pile of crispy seasoned chickpeas, juicy bursts of roasted tomatoes, tender strands of chicken and the most amazing creamy tahini dressing tossed with ribbons of kale. Introducing – my Chicken Kale Salad. Now THIS is a kale salad I crave!

A chicken kale salad to crave

This is a fully loaded kale salad that was intentionally designed to be satisfying to have as a meal. It has great variety of textures and flavours – crunch and saltiness from chickpeas, (soft) chewiness of the kale leaves, fresh juiciness from the tomatoes, tender meaty bits of chicken all tossed with a rich, cream tahini dressing. It’s incredibly filling. And the high delicious factor goes without saying!

But really, the absolute star here is the tahini dressing which is so creamy, it’s hard to believe there’s not a drop of mayonnaise in it. The richness is natural, from tahini, enriched with olive oil, balanced with the fresh tang of lemon and a good hit of savouriness from parmesan.

You could actually skip all the add-ins and just make this salad with kale and that creamy tahini dressing, and it would still be scoff-worthy. But I really hope you try this recipe in its entirety too, because it’s something else!

Ingredients in this chicken kale salad

I’m not going to lie – the ingredients list is longer than 95% of the recipes on my website. Because there’s a number of components to this salad. But it’s worth it! And we’re just making a salad here. It’s perfectly straight forward. 🙂

The kale (& onion)

First up, the kale!

Tuscan kale – This is the first recipe I’m sharing using tuscan kale, ordinarily I use the more common curly kale. Also known as also known as cavolo nero, black or lacinato kale, the leaves are shaped like silverbeet/chard and not as bushy/curly as regular kale (curly kale) so it’s more suitable to cut into slaw-like strips like I do in this recipe. The leaf is also softer than curly kale.

If using regular curly kale (which you totally can), don’t try to cut it into strips (it gets all crumbly). Just chop or tear into small bite size pieces.

Onion – Just a quarter of a red onion which we sliced very finely so it flops throughout the salad. I like the freshness if adds into this salad.

creamy tahini dressing INGREDIENTS

Tahini – This is plain pureed sesame and it’s the star player here, providing richness and creaminess in the dressing so it clings to every bit of the kale (and everything else it touches). Be sure to get hulled tahini which is the more common variety here in Australia (pale beige colour) not unhulled tahini (darker in colour and bitter). Tahini is typically found in the health food aisle in grocery stores, else alongside spreads.
Extra virgin olive oil – The oil in this dressing, rather than using just tahini which makes the dressing too thick.
Parmesan – For a good hit of savoury flavour. It’s best to grate your own but even pre-grated is fine because we blitz it smooth. Alternative – Anchovies. Oh yes! Use as many as you dare to add flavour and salt without the sauce tasting fishy.
Lemon – The tang in this dressing, to balance out the richness of the tahini and olive oil. Fresher than vinegar, though you can substituted with apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar.
Garlic – Just one clove, else the raw garlic flavour is a little too full on (blitzing really brings out the flavour of raw garlic!).
Water to thin the sauce to a toss-able consistency. Don’t worry, it doesn’t dilute the dressing flavour, there’s loads of flavour in the dressing!

burst roast tomatoes

Named as such because they burst in your mouth! Literally just cherry tomatoes (or grape tomatoes, as I seem to use more often these days) roasted in a little oil, salt and pepper until they are a little wrinkled which means in the inside is beautifully soft.

THE CHICKEN

To keep things easy, I just use a store bought roast chicken and shred it myself. If you poach and shred your own, toss the chicken in a pinch of salt and pepper before using in this recipe (because store bought chicken is brined so the flesh has salt).

crispy seasoned chickpeas

And last but certainly not least, the crispy chickpeas! I’m using my go-to spice mix for chickpeas here, recently featured in the Spicy maple roast carrots recipe. It adds great crunch into this salad and nice little salty seasoned pops, as well as adding a starch to fill the meal out. And it’s a “good starch” too, that will keep you feeling fuller for longer. 🙂

How to make this chicken kale salad

While there are a few components to this salad, there’s a nice workflow to it:

Get those bursty tomatoes and crispy chickpeas in the oven (30 minutes)
While they are baking, chop and “marinate” the kale leaves to soften them (20 minutes)
Make the dressing, shred the chicken and slice the onion.
Assemble and eat!

1. Burst roast tomatoes & crispy chickpeas

Bake together – Toss the tomatoes in oil, salt and pepper. Then drain the chickpeas and put them, still wet, onto a separate tray. We’re going to oven dry them before tossing in the seasonings (less effort and more effective to get them crispy than towel or air drying!). Bake both for 12 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft and wrinkly, by which time the chickpeas will be thoroughly dried.
Toss the chickpeas in a little oil which will make the spice mix stick, then pop them back in the oven for another 20 to 25 minutes or until the chickpeas are crispy (you’ll know, they clatter).
Burst tomatoes – Let them cool on the tray until you’re ready to use them. Don’t handle them, they are delicate and prone to, well, bursting!
Crispy chickpeas – Once the chickpeas are ready, just set them aside to cool slightly before using. Nobody wants a third degree mouth burn from hot little crispy balls of chickpeas!

2. STRIPPING KALE LEAVES

Because the stem of kale leaves are quite tough and fibrous, I remove the leafy part from the stem. I just rip it off – quick, easy, effective!

Separate the leaves then work one leaf at a time.
Grab the stem and then grab the leafy part with your other hand and pull it up the stem which will rip the leafy part cleanly off the stem. Don’t worry about crushing the kale leaves, they are hardy and can take it. In fact, we crush them deliberately to soften them!
Said leafy part. 🙂
Stem – Discard or throw into your next batch of vegetable stock.

3. Making the kale salad

Soften kale – Kale is a little chewy when eaten raw. So I like to soften it before using in salads. To do this, just massage / scrunch the chopped kale with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Not much is needed – a little goes a long way, you will be surprised! About 10 seconds of enthusiastic scrunching is all that’s needed to disperse the oil onto each bit of kale. Then set it aside for 20 minutes which will soften the kale leaves. In fact, the kale can keep like this overnight, it won’t go soggy like other leafy greens.
If you don’t mind the chew, feel free to skip this step!
Blitz dressing – Use a stick blender to blitz the dressing until smooth. A stick blender works best. If you use a blender, you’ll need to really scrape the sides / blades well. For a food processor, you’d have to use a small one. To make it by hand, finely grate the garlic using a microplane or fine grater and mix very well until smooth. You will have some little parmesan lumps but the dressing will still be tasty.

Toss the kale with about two thirds of the dressing (we drizzle the rest on at the end). No need to be exact here, just eye ball it.
Add ins – Add the chicken, red onion and cherry tomatoes then toss again just to disperse them.

Crispy chickpeas next! Just pile them on.
Finish by drizzling with the remaining dressing and a big shower of freshly grated parmesan. Then DIG IN!

I forgot the egg 🙂

As I was writing up this post, I realised I forgot to include the soft boiled egg in the recipe video. It is an optional extra and something I added as a last minute addition to dial up the good-for-you substantial-ness of this salad even more.

But it doesn’t need it.

In fact, as I said in the opening, it doesn’t need all the extras. You could skip the chicken, the chickpeas, the onion and tomatoes, and just make a giant bowl of kale tossed in this dressing and it will be a great kale salad side dish.

But if you want to make a statement meal-worthy salad, I urge you to go all in, at least once, to experience the greatness of this kale salad! And I hope you become obsessed with it as I have. 🙂 – Nagi x

PS Great one for making ahead up to 2 days. Even the “marinated kale” keeps perfectly and won’t go limp like regular leafy greens once they come into contact with oil.

Watch how to make it

The most amazing Chicken Kale Salad

Recipe video above. WORTH MAKING – don't let the length of the ingredients deter you!! This is a big, hearty salad that may well be the best kale salad you've ever had. Big call I stand by! 🙂

Filled with good-for-you nutrition yet anything but bland, that creamy tahini sauce totally makes it, thanks to the parmesan. Crunchy seasoned chickpeas add starchy bulk, flavour pops and texture, the cherry tomatoes add juicy bursts and the chicken provides protein. Oh yeah, and there's kale in it too! 🙂 Powerhouse greens!

Course Main

Cuisine Western

Keyword chicken kale salad, kale salad

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

Servings – 4 people

Calories 695cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

SOFTENED KALE:

5 very tightly packed cups Tuscan kale (cavolo nero) , leafy part stripped off stem, sliced into 1 cm / 1/2" ribbons (Note 1)
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp salt and pepper

SALAD:

1/4 red onion , very finely sliced
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken , I use store bought (else poach your own, Note 2)
2 soft boiled eggs , halved (optional)

BURST TOMATOES

1 1/2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp cooking salt/kosher salt
1/8 tsp black pepper

CRISPY SEASONED CHICKPEAS

400 g/ 14 oz can chickpeas , drained but not dried
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp EACH garlic powder , onion powder
1/4 tsp EACH cooking salt / kosher salt & black pepper

CREAMY PARMESAN TAHINI DRESSING

4 tbsp (60 g) tahini , hulled (Note 3)
2 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup parmesan finely grated (pack the cup tight), plus extra for serving
1/2 tsp cooking salt/kosher salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 large garlic clove , peeled
4 tbsp water (plus more, if needed)

Cups – Metric

Instructions

SHORTFORM RECIPE:

Oven – Roast tomatoes 12 min at 200°C/425°F (180°C fan). Roast plain chickpeas 10 min, toss with oil & seasonings, roast 20 min until crispy (same temp).
Salad – Massage kale, leave 20 min. Blitz dressing. Toss kale, chicken, tomatoes, onion with half. Pile on chickpeas, drizzle with remaining dressing, shower with parmesan. EAT!

FULL RECIPE:

Preheat the oven to 200°C/425°F (180°C fan).
Roast tomatoes – Toss the tomatoes with the oil, salt and pepper on a small tray. Roast 12 minutes, then cool on the tray.
Crispy chickpeas – Drain the chickpeas then spread on a tray (still wet). Bake 10 minutes (same time as tomatoes). Push the oven dried chickpeas to one side of the tray. Drizzle with the oil and sprinkle with the chickpea spices, salt and pepper. Toss well using a rubber spatula, then return to the oven for a further 20 – 25 minutes until they're crispy (They should clatter! Note 4).
Soften kale – Rub/scrunch the kale with the oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Put the kale in a large bowl then drizzle with the oil and add the salt and pepper. Set aside for 20 minutes (softens leaves).
Tahini dressing – Put the ingredients in a jug just large enough to fit the head of a stick blender. Blitz until smooth, using extra water if needed to loosen into a thick but pourable consistency (see video).
Toss – Pour half the dressing over the kale and toss. Add onion, chicken and most of the tomatoes (save a few for decoration). Toss again.
Serve – Transfer into a serving bowl or individual bowls. Top with remaining tomatoes, all the chickpeas and eggs if using. Drizzle with remaining sauce then sprinkle with extra parmesan. DIG IN. SWOON!

Notes

* You could totally just make this with the kale and tahini dressing if you’re just in need of a tasty kale side salad. Everything else are add-ins that makes this into a satisfying, interesting meal-size-salad!

1. Tuscan kale, also called cavolo nero, black or lacinato kale, has leaves shaped more like silverbeet (chard) slightly flatter than curly kale so more suited to cutting into slaw-like strips and the leaves are slightly softer too. To use regular curly kale, chop into bite size pieces (don’t slice thinly, doesn’t really work well).

Removing the leaf off the stem – Grab and rip it off! Quick ‘n easy, watch the video 🙂

2. Chicken – I use store bought roast chicken. If cooking your own, I recommend poaching it using this method. Shred then toss with a pinch of salt and pepper before using.

3. Tahini – Mix well if the oil is separated. If it’s set like cement, microwave to warm (it will loosen) then use a stick blender. Hulled is lighter in colour (standard tahini). Unhulled tahini is darker and more bitter (harder to find), I don’t use this.

4. Roasted chickpeas should be crispy on the outside but still soft on the inside (else they are like little rocks!). 10 minutes dry roasting makes them extra crisp (better than air or towel drying) though they will start to soften after an hour or so. For ultra crisp though, and longer lasting crisp, you need to deep fry.

Re-crisp by popping in the oven for 5 minutes or so (same temp per recipe).

5. Storage – Oil rubbed kale will keep just fine for 2 days. Keep the components separate then assemble when required. Crispy chickpeas can be revived – see above note.

Nutrition per person, assuming 3 servings. It’s filling! Easily stretch to 4 with bread or double the chickpeas.

Nutrition

Life of Dozer

In exciting news – the RTM sign reveal! Yes, a giant life-size Dozer sticker on the front of RTM.

It is actually quite worrying what a thrill I got to slap a giant Dozer sticker on the RTM window. 😂

And in other news, Dozer was visiting RTM for a shoot day with a professional photographer (Rob Palmer). It’s been bothering me that I still don’t have an RTM website (one of the reasons I haven’t started a volunteer program and public donations yet) and really great photos to provide to media and for other uses. So we had a big shoot day yesterday to capture great photos of the team at work, and what we do. 🙂

And I’m explaining all of that so I can share that sadly, Dozer was restricted to the office area for hygiene and food safety reasons. You’d think he’d realise he can barge past that stool and bolt into the kitchen to get to the 480 meals we were making that day, but he’s too good a boy for that! Instead, he just stood there and barked all day. 😂

OFFICIAL PROGRESS REPORT – And on a serious note, his rehab post surgery is continuing though I feel like over the past week noticeable progress stalled somewhat. I’m hoping he hasn’t peaked yet and has more improvements to come.

Also, I think he picked up a stomach bug or gastro on the weekend so he hasn’t been himself this week with some pretty serious bouts of nausea and hyper salivating. I’m a little worried because vomiting / regurgitation poses a lung infection risk for him because of his medical condition which is serious, scary and can be deadly. He’s been to the vet and has another visit scheduled for tomorrow. Fingers crossed he gets over it soon so we can re-commence his strength training!

Back at the vet for his latest problem – maybe gastro?

Mind you, he wouldn’t have been bustling around me in the kitchen to try today’s dish anyway because Dozer’s disregard for kale is pretty well documented:

That was the chapter opener photo from my cookbook. I love that photo so much, it just captures his attitude perfectly! 😂

On a more cheerful note though, he did get out to the beach again on the weekend (Bayview in the Northern Beaches of Sydney where I lived until a year ago). It takes me 40 minutes to drive there and it’s worth every minute because honestly, I can’t tell you how happy it makes him. His personality completely changes, he perks up and has more energy. I think it’s great for his muscle rehab so I’m going to keep taking him.

Woah, that was a much longer Dozer update than expected! I’ll sign off here and hope to bring more happy news with the next recipe! – Nagi x

The post The most amazing Chicken Kale Salad appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

Farro Salad with Sizzled Dressing

Nagi — Mon, 04 Sep 2023 06:00:00 +0000

Farro – so much more interesting and better for you than pasta or rice! This farro salad is a stellar combination: nutty farro, bursty tomatoes, spinach bits and smeary goats cheese or feta, doused in a garlic Sizzled Dressing with pops of coriander and cumin.

A Farro Salad worth making!

This is a farro salad that was already great before the Sizzly Dressing. The farro is cooked with vinegar instead of plain water (thanks for the tip New York Times Cooking! *See UPDATE*), making it delicious even before the add-ins. The roasted tomatoes are on the edge of bursting. And there’s smeary goats cheese, that tangy, creamy cheese that can make everything seem a little gourmet.

I could’ve just drizzled with a basic lemon dressing, and it would still be scoff-worthy.

But! That sizzling garlic-cumin-coriander dressing! Pops of toasted cumin and coriander with golden bits of garlic tossed through the farro just make for a stellar flavour and textural combination. 100% addictive. Simple but unique. Very Ottolenghi vibes.

I’m completely besotted. (With the salad. OK fine, maybe a bit with Ottolenghi too.)

*UPDATE: A reader pointed out that the NYT recipe uses apple cider (the drink) not apple cider vinegar! Even NYT readers have made that mistake like me – ha ha ha! Well, apple cider vinegar is what I use here and it works brilliantly to be the acid that is normally used in salad dressings. I’m actually glad you don’t have to go out to buy drinking cider to make this. :)*

Here’s a little look at the players in today’s recipe – a pot of vinegar cooked farro (it’s so good!) and bursty tomatoes….

…..and that sizzly dressing and smeary goats cheese…… (or Danish feta)

It’s a magical combination!

What you need for this Farro Salad

Here’s what you need to make this farro salad. First up, the secret ingredient: farro! (I know, I’m hilarious 😂).

Farro

Think of farro as a more nutritious, tastier alternative to white rice and pasta. Or – like quinoa, except it doesn’t get stuck in your teeth. It’s a whole grain that’s got a lovely nutty flavour, and a great meaty chew that makes it so satisfying to eat. Plus, it’s nutrient and fibre rich.

*Update: We’ve made this recipe using pearl barley too! Great alternative.*

Find it in whole food stores, fresh produce stores and delis. The packet pictured above is from Harris Farms (I’m in Sydney, Australia), $7 for 500g / 1 lb (we use 210g / 7oz).

Farro type – I use whole farro, the standard sold in Australia. Farro also comes pearled (outer layer removed) and semi-pearled (some removed), but these are not so common in Australia (to my knowledge). Whole farro has nothing removed, and is the chewiest, most flavourful and nutritious.

Substitute with pearl barley. Similar nutty flavour although it is slightly softer. Directions in recipe notes!

How to cook it – Boil in liquid like pasta! Whole farro takes 40 minutes. Pearled takes ~15 minutes, and semi-pearled ~30 minutes. Because pearling isn’t standardised, the exact times will differ. Just taste to check.

vinegar to cook the farro

As mentioned at the top of the post, the farro in this recipe is cooked in a combination of water and vinegar. A great cooking method I tried and love in this Farro Salad recipe from New York Times Cooking*. Using vinegar infuses with tangy flavour, making the farro tasty in its own right. Have a nibble and you’ll see!

*See UPDATE under photo at top of post about mistaken identify – drinking cider vs vinegar!*

The add-ins

Not that many! The magic in this recipe is all about the cooking method for the farro and the sizzling garlic-cumin-coriander dressing. 🙂

Grape or cherry tomatoes – Roasted for just 8 minutes at a relatively high temperature at the same time as the farro (handy!) so they become a little bit wrinkly but still holding together. Some burstage will happen when you toss them through the salad and this is encouraged as the juice forms part of the dressing.
Goats cheese or Danish feta – Smeary, tangy, creamy goodness, the perfect finishing touch.
Eschalot – Called “shallots” in the US, also known as French onions. They look like baby onions, but are finer and sweeter than regular onions so they kind of meld into the salad better. Substitute with finely sliced red onion.
Baby spinach – I like a bit of green leafage tossed through here and baby spinach is my choice. Rocket/arugula would also work nicely. Crispy greens like iceberg, cos/romaine probably won’t hold up as well as they tend to wilt more easily. But if that’s all I had, it wouldn’t stop me from making this!

The sizzling garlic-coriander-cumin dressing

Channeling my Ottolenghi within, inspired by this green bean salad of his, coriander and cumin seeds are sizzled with a good amount of garlic in olive oil and poured hot over the eschallots on top of the farro which makes them cook slightly.

There’s no vinegar in this dressing because the farro gets cooked in vinegar which is all the tang we need.

Coriander and cumin seeds – toasted whole in olive oil, they add the most incredible pops of flavour in this Farro Salad! They keep things interesting. 🙂
Garlic – Finely minced, sautéed until golden.
Olive oil – Use extra virgin for better flavour.

How to make Farro Salad with Sizzled Dressing

There’s a few components to this salad but they are low effort and low maintenance steps. And I wouldn’t ask you to do them if it wasn’t worth it!

Toasting / roasting

Toast farro & roast tomatoes at the same time. Spread the farro on a tray, toss the tomatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper then put them in the oven. They will both take 8 minutes in a 200°C/400°F (180°C fan). Yes, I know 8 minutes is an oddly precise time. But honestly, at 10 minutes, the farro is very well toasted and the tomatoes are very wrinkly. 8 minutes is perfect! 🙂
PS Toasting the farro gives it extra nutty flavour and gives it a lovely warm brown colour. I do this for quinoa too. Effortless, and so worth it!
Bursty tomatoes – Leave the tomatoes on the tray and let them cool while you get on with the recipe.

Pour the toasted farro into a medium saucepan.
Rapidly simer the toasted farro in water, vinegar and salt for 40 minutes. No need to stir.
Cooked farro – The exact cooking time of farro can vary depending on how old the farro is. Older = tougher = longer cooking time and more water. So just taste to check. Uncooked farro is rock hard. Cooked farro should have a good chew to it but not have a hard centre. Overcooked farro will be mushy and unpleasant. Let’s not go there.
If your farro is still too hard for your taste once the liquid is absorbed, just add more water and keep cooking. It’s very forgiving to cook. You could never do that with rice!
Drain off any excess liquid. For the farro I use, 3 cups liquid and 1 cup farro = nearly no liquid left.
Put the farro in a large bowl then pile the eschalots on top. Leave it to cool for 10 minutes or so, or you can let it fully cool. This salad is great served slightly warm or at room temp.

Sizzling dressing

Sizzling dressing – Heat the oil in a small pan then toast the cumin and coriander for around 30 seconds or until it smells amazing. Then add the garlic and sauté that for another 30 seconds or so until light golden and – you guessed it – smells amazing!

Immediately pour the sizzling oil over the eschallots on the farro. The hot oil will partially cook the eschallots and make them wilt a bit.
PS You won’t need to worry about oil spitting and splattering. I really wanted a dramatic sizzle during this step but it’s not dramatic at all.

Toss the faro well to mix the dressing through.
Add spinach then toss briefly to mix through.
Gently transfer the tomatoes in. Handle with care – they are delicate and bursty, hence the name!
Then gently mix the tomatoes through. Some tomato burstage is encouraged – it forms part of the “dressing” – but we don’t want them all to turn into complete mush.
Now, it’s time to plate up!

Assembling

For any salad with goats cheese or feta that goes smeary when tossed through salads, I prefer to assemble the salad by layering it. But that’s just me! You could just mix the goats cheese through if you prefer.

I’ve done three layers here. So – put one-third of the farro salad in a shallow bowl, top with one-third goats cheese. Repeat twice more. Finish with a swish of extra virgin olive oil if desired!

YUM. How good does that look!

If that photo doesn’t get you excited about trying this Farro Salad, do it for the Sizzled Dressing. Because if you haven’t tried a salad made with whole toasted coriander and/or cumin seeds before (like this one or this one), you are missing out! – Nagi x

PS This is an excellent salad for taking places, not only because it’s something different that will impress but also because it’s got excellent shelf life. No worries about wilting fragile leafy greens here! Make ahead and transportability notes are in the recipe card below.

Watch how to make it

Farro Salad with Sizzled Garlic Dressing

Recipe video above. Farro is so much more interesting than pasta or rice! This salad has stellar flavour and texture: nutty farro, juicy burst cherry tomatoes, spinach bits and smeary goats cheese or feta, doused in an addictive hot garlic olive oil dressing with pops of coriander and cumin.

You'll love how we cook the farro – it's delicious even more you add everything else. Serves 4 as a meal, 8 as a side. Excellent shelf life and brilliant for taking to gatherings – see notes.

Course Salad meal, Side Dish, Side Salad, Sides

Cuisine Western

Keyword farro recipe, farro salad

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 45

Farro cooling 10

Servings – 8

Calories 367cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

Farro:

1 cup farro , dried, whole (Note 1)
1 cup apple cider vinegar (Note 2)
2 cups water
1 tsp cooking/kosher salt

Burst tomatoes:

400g/ 14oz (4 cups) grape tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp each salt and pepper

Add-ins:

1 eschallot , halved then finely sliced (sub 1/4 red onion) (Note 3)
2 tightly packed cups baby spinach , roughly chopped (sub arugula/baby rocket)
80g/ 3oz goats cheese or 120g/4 oz Danish feta (Note 4)

Sizzling garlic cumin dressing:

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp garlic , finely minced (~4 cloves)
2 tsp coriander seeds
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds

Cups – Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F (180°C fan).
Roast tomatoes and toast farro – Toss tomatoes on a tray with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread farro on a separate tray. Put both in the oven, farro on the top shelf, tomatoes underneath. Bake for 8 minutes, shaking the trays halfway. The farro should be browned with a nutty flavour, the tomatoes should be a bit wrinkly but still holding their shape.
Cool tomatoes on the tray while you prep everything else.
Cook farro (Note 1) – Put the toasted farro in a saucepan with the vinegar, water and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat then reduce to medium so it is simmering. Cover with lid then simmer for 40 – 45 minutes or until all/most of the liquid is absorbed and the farro is ready. It should still have a bite to it (not soft like pasta) but not a hard centre. Add more water if needed, and keep cooking – don't be afraid to cook it softer if you want. Drain off excess liquid, if there is any, then transfer to a large bowl. (Taste: a bit tangy, the "vinegar" component used in salad dressings!)
Pile eschallots on top. Let farro cool to room temp.
Sizzling garlic cumin dressing – Heat oil in a small pan over medium low heat. Add coriander and cumin, cook for 30 seconds until light golden and you can smell it. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds until light golden.
Assembling – Immediately pour hot oil over eschallots so it semi-cooks it. Toss. Add spinach, toss. Add tomatoes, gently stir through (some tomato collapsing is encouraged). Pour 1/3 into a serving bowl, crumble over 1/3 goats cheese. Repeat twice more, finishing with goats cheese. Eat!

Notes

1. Farro – Sold dried, find it in whole food stores, fresh produce stores and delis. I got mine from Harris Farms (I’m in Sydney, Australia), $7 for 500g / 1 lb (we use 210g / 7oz).

Whole farro is what I use, chewiest and has the best nutty flavour. Standard in Australia. Farro also comes pearled (outer layer completely removed) and semi-pearled (partially removed) which are softer and cook faster. Pearled ~15 min, semi-pearled 30 min. Taste to check, drain excess water.

Cooking tips – Simmer energetically else it will take ages to cook. Exact cook time and liquid absorption will depend on the age. Older = takes longer. Start checking at 35 minutes. Cooked farro is still quite firm, much firmer than pasta, but you don’t want a hard centre. Just cook to your taste – add water and keep cooking until you like it – and when done drain excess liquid.

Substitute with pearl barley, similar nutty flavour but is slightly softer. Takes 35 minutes, will have a little excess water to drain off. Best to spread out on tray to cool (gets a little softer than ideal if cooled in a bowl).

2. Vinegar – Can use other types but make sure it’s not as harsh as regular white vinegar. White wine, red wine, champagne and sherry vinegar will all work great. Balsamic will stain the farro.

3. Eschalot (US: shallots) – The small onions, finer and sweeter than regular onions so they meld into the salad better. Substitute with 1/4 red onion very finely sliced.

4. Goats Cheese – The creamiest of this type so it sort of smears through the salad and becomes part of the dressing. Danish feta is a close second. Greek feta can also be used, just crumble it all through.

5. Storage / making ahead – Assembled salad great for 3 days in the fridge. Excellent one for taking places because farro doesn’t wilt and fade like leafy greens. Make the hot dressing, cool, then put in a jar and keep in the fridge. If you promise to toss carefully, you can put the farro in a container with the eschallots, tomato and spinach on top. Then, douse with cooled dressing, toss gently (you promised to be extra careful!). Finish with goats cheese.

Nutrition per serving, assuming 4 servings.

Nutrition

Life of Dozer

Tea towel licking (ie smears of tasty food). Cute. But annoying. (She says, as she throws the tea towel into the dirty laundry and gets yet another clean one, and tries to scold him but everybody knows she thinks it’s adorable.)

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