Dressed with nothing but lemon and olive oil, sweet, nutty farro and tangy pickled mushrooms get together in this toothsome salad. Farro is an ancient relative of wheat, yet it has far less gluten. It has lots of grain nutrients, as do most whole, unprocessed grains. Texturally, it has the fullness of barley. I first tasted farro at Gramercy Tavern when Tom Colicchio was the chef there in 1994. He used stoneground whole farro grains, which retain more bran and fiber so they don’t convert to sugar so rapidly.
Ingredients
For the pickled mushrooms
- ½ cup white balsamic vinegar
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon pickling spice
- 1 tablespoon red-pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 cup mixed mushrooms, such as button, cremini, and oyster
For the farro
- 4 quarts water
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 cup whole farro
- ¼ cup golden raisins
- ¼ cup olive oil Juice of 2 small lemons
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley leaves
- ½ cup greens such as arugula, red oak, or tatsoi, or a mixture
- Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
How to Make It
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To make the pickled mushrooms
- In a medium pot, combine the vinegar, water, the pickling spice, pepper flakes, and salt and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat. Plunge the mushrooms into the liquid and set aside to cool, uncovered. Place in the refrigerator overnight or longer, depending on how strong you want the pickled mushrooms. To make the farro
- In a large pot, bring the water to a boil. Add the salt and return to a boil. Add the farro and cook until firm and toothsome but not hard, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand for 2 minutes.
- Drain the farro and transfer to a large bowl. Add the raisins, olive oil, lemon juice, and parsley. Toss to thoroughly combine. Set aside to cool.
- With a slotted spoon, remove the mushrooms from the liquid and add to the farro. Add the greens. Toss, season with salt and black pepper, and serve at room temperature.