Farro Salad with Asparagus & Feta

 Whole grain salads are the staple of our spring and summer table, where you’ll regularly find compositions featuring quinoa, millet, barley, and bulgar along with a plethora of fresh, seasonal vegetables. Our newest love just happens to be farro, a hearty and deeply satisfying grain that we adore because it pairs so nicely with such a variety of fresh local ingredients year-round. 

Ever popular in Europe, and gaining a reputation in the states, farro comes in whole and pearled varieties. Using pearled farro cuts down on cooking time and gives farro the opportunity to be the star of even the most hurried weeknight meals. We’ve found that toasting the farro in butter prior to cooking intensifies the grain’s naturally rich, nutty flavor. 

In this dish, we’ve combined asparagus, green onions, and fresh oregano to give the dish a distinctly spring-like flair.  Sundried tomatoes give a nod to the impending summer harvest. Chickpeas offer protein. And feta cheese pulls everything together, giving the dish a Mediterranean flair and offering a counterpoint to the tangy lemon dressing.

Farro Salad with Asparagus & Feta

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Using and Preserving Summer Herbs: Rosemary Comes to Dinner

I've been friends with Rosemary for a long time now. When we first met, she was dry, and her disposition sharp.  When we talked, I always seemed to get her caught in my teeth.  And I couldn't seem to appreciate her harshness.

However, as the years wore on, I found that there were many sides to Rosemary.  If I caught her in the morning, fresh from the garden, her smell was intoxicating -- a bit like fresh pine boughs, and filled with the earth.  But, if left alone for too long, she grew parched and brittle, and her perfume would start to smell astringent.

Her marriage to garlic is almost too good to be true. But, it's taken many years of practice.  When they first met, they both tried to hog the spotlight. Inevitably, one of them ended up wounded or broken. But, over the years the two lovers have learned to move together in perfect harmony. And everyone is happier -- including the neighbors.

Although she turns some people off with her assertiveness, I'm Rosemary's biggest fan. You always know where you stand when you're with her. And there's no hiding behind false pretenses. She puts herself right out there in front, and you can't help but notice her.  And I'll be honest, that's a big part of her appeal.

I had her over for dinner the other night. At first, we were uncertain about what to make. So, we took a trip to the supermarket. Rosemary pointed to the tender young Strauss free-raised veal shanks and smiled. I knew then that we were in for something special.

 She took me by the arm and led me back into the kitchen. And that's where the lessons began.  I learned to rely on the basics -- celery, onions, carrots, a splash of white wine, and very good chicken stock.  But, she also taught me to think outside the box -- adding petitely diced guanciale, briny anchovy filets, last summer's dried Principe Borghese tomatoes, and (of course) a generous helping of garlic.

As the ingredients simmered, I was mesmerized by how the ingredients danced together -- playing off of one another's strengths, waxing and waning and gradually mellowing.  And, as the components came together, they formed a symphony of flavors... of colors...

With Rosemary at the helm, I began to realize that it couldn't help but become a thing of beauty.  So, I reliquished control. While Rosemary worked her magic, I pulled together a pot of risotto. Simple. Elegant. Embellished only by a grating of Carr Valley Gran Canaria -- an intensely nutty cheese that I figured would be the perfect match for Rosemary's intensity.

The dance took almost two hours to complete, but when we finished, I wasn't even tired. In fact, I felt invigorated. Delighted. Inspired. And as we finished, I couldn't help but savor those final bits of sauce -- deliciously unctuous and smooth, subtly herbal, and ... well, perfect.

Sometimes there's nothing like a new dinner with an old friend.


Osso Buco with Rosemary & Sundried Tomatoes

This guest post wraps up our Summer 2010 Herb Series: Using and Preserving Herbs. Thanks to everyone for making this series such a great success!  And we wish you much luck making use of your bountiful harvest.


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Braciola di Pollo: Stuffed Boneless Chicken with Sundried Tomatoes & Summer Herbs

It's going back quite a ways, but I can still remember the first "fancy" dinner party dish I ever made pretty vividly. It was a recipe for chicken breasts that were pounded flat, stuffed with cheese, fastened with toothpicks, and baked in the oven.

The first lesson I learned was that you should always COVER your chicken breast with something before whacking away at it with a meat mallet. That was followed shortly by the realization that over-stuffing the chicken breasts probably wasn't the best idea.  And then I rounded the experience out by nearly impaling myself with the dullest toothpick I've ever encountered.

My oh my, how things change.

I haven't stuffed a chicken breast with anything in a very long time, though I've actually developed some pretty mad skillz for using toothpicks. And I've gotten pretty good with a meat mallet.

But, stuffed chicken (albeit not breasts) really IS the point of this post. So, I'd better get on with that.

The inspiration for this dish hearkens back to a chicken roll recipe from Mario Batali that we came across online a few months back. It was a boned chicken, stuffed with veal, pork, and ham and roasted in the oven until it was crisped and browned.  I liked the idea of a "boneless chicken roll," so I decided to play with the flavors.

We actually learned to debone poultry when we tackled Julia Child's Pate de Canard en croute for a cooking challenge last summer. It was a skill I was pretty proud to have developed (especially since a number of chickens were sacrificed along the way in order for me to gain confidence with the process).  But, I hadn't put it to good use in quite a while.  So, I figured a little bit of experimenting would get me back into practice.

Inspired by the summer weather, I decided to go with a stuffing that was lighter and far less meat heavy.  I happened to have a few dehydrated Principe Borghese tomatoes leftover from last summer's harvest on hand.

I also realized that it was the perfect opportunity to capitalize on all the summer herbs we had in the back yard.  Peef clipped some basil, parsley, and rosemary. And we got started.  I mixed the herbs with re-hydrated tomatoes, fresh bread crumbs, blue cheese, and a couple of eggs.

We de-boned and stuffed the chicken, and then threw everything into a hot oven for about 40 minutes.

The fact is, this is a relatively simple dish once you've got the pesky de-boning out of the way.  These days I almost always de-bone more than one chicken at a time and I always roll up one or two to sock away in the freezer for later. Makes for pretty slick entertaining when the time comes -- and honestly, it shaves off enough time that we can even throw together a delicious meal like this one on a regular old weeknight.

And, honestly, who can argue with that?

Braciola di Pollo: Stuffed Boneless Chicken with Sundried Tomatoes & Herbs

This post is part of our Summer 2010 Herb Series: Using and Preserving Herbs. Stay tuned every Friday for more hints, tips and tricks on how to use summer's bounty!  

We're also excited to announce that, starting next Friday, we'll be featuring guest posts from some of our favorite food blogger friends as part of the herb series.  First up on July 9th -- Amy from Very Culinary!


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Roasted Broccoli Risotto with Sundried Tomatoes and Olives

Ah. Risotto.
Seduce me with your creaminess. Woo me with your toothy charm.
Nourish me with strong-flavored winter veg... OK, maybe I'm getting a little bit carried away. But, when a girl is as seriously TIRED of broccoli as I am, it's pretty exciting when she finds a broccoli dish that really bowls her over.

This dish was inspired by a pasta recipe I ran across years ago that became a regular occurrance in our winter repertoire. It was a baked penne with broccoli, oil-cured olives, and feta cheese. I liked the recipe because it came together quickly on weeknights. It was also an exceedingly brilliant composition -- all those strong/savory/salty/briny flavors complementing one another all in one bowl.

It hadn't occurred to me to combine the same flavors in a risotto. Until just the other night. When the idea hit me -- like a flash of light -- I was pretty stoked. I decided that roasted broccoli would be a decidedly fine addition to such a risotto, so I hauled out my roasting pan. While the broccoli was crisping up, I hauled out my risotto pan and sauteed some onions with a bit of dried thyme and garlic. I also heated up a bit of stock in a separate saucepan. This would be an excellent vegetarian dish if I had used vegetable stock, but I happened to have chicken stock on hand, so I used that.

I also pitted and chopped a handful of oil-cured black olives, as well as about a half cup of oil-packed sundried tomatoes (which I decided would add some welcome color and a great *pop* of sweet flavor to the dish). And I crumbled a handful of Greek feta.

And so the risotto process began. I added the rice to the pot. And then a bit of semi-dry white wine (actually a nice Chenin Blanc/Vignier).

Then came the stirring. The adding of stock. And more stirring. The kitchen started to smell wonderful. My tummy started rumbling. And I'd slipped into that zen sortofa place that you go when you're making risotto. Then the oven beeped. After jumping about half-way through the ceiling, I regained my composure and opened the oven door to find the broccoli all nice and roasty-toasty. Perfect.

I kept stirring and adding stock. When the rice was nearly al dente, I added the roasted broccoli, tomatoes, and olives -- giving them just long enough to cook together with the rice and allow the flavors to meld.

Then, we scooped that lovely risotto into bowls and sprinkled everything with a bit of crumbled feta. And the dish was complete. And completely glorious. *sigh*And so we dined. Each forkful evoked all sorts of crucifer-meets-umame-wonderful. And our Winter Bellies were satisfied. Which is a Very Good thing.
Roasted Broccoli Risotto with Sundried Tomatoes and Olives


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