Name: Farro salad Recipe
Total time: 1 h
Yield: Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups uncooked farro; 1 bay leaf and sprig of thyme tied together with kitchen string; Salt; 1 small red pepper; 1/2 cup shelled English peas, blanched; 2 tablespoons mixed chopped tarragon, basil, mint and parsley; 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 4 to 6 tablespoons grated fresh pecorino cheese or ricotta salata

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By Betty Hallock

and Donna Deane

June 27, 2007

THERE’S no better way to spend a languid early-summer evening than by gathering with family or friends on the patio for a supper drawn from a table filled with colorful plates of delicious antipasti.

It’s a bit like eating at a trattoria in Italy: first your aperitivo and a small bowl of olives, maybe some salumi -- and then a parade of fantastic little dishes, often prepared simply with fresh vegetables and herbs. Dishes such as farro salad, or quick-grilled romaine with favas and pecorino, or Romano beans sauteed with fresh oregano. They’re basic and light but also pretty and tasty, cooked and dressed just right -- with a little vinegar, lemon juice, good olive oil or fresh herbs. They’re not meaty or heavy.

Nothing has to be baked or fried or stuffed or wrapped. Everything can be served room temperature.

These fresh-tasting salads aren’t just your garden-variety leafy greens, they’re an inviting start to a meal. Offer one as a first course, or serve a few at a time to be enjoyed by the spoonful in combination with other antipasti.

At Fraiche restaurant in Culver City, chef-owner Jason Travi serves an appetizer salad made with farro, the barley-like grain that’s firm and hearty and nutty.

He cooks the farro with a bouquet garni of bay leaf and a sprig of thyme, adds diced roasted red pepper and blanched English peas, then tosses the grain and vegetables with tarragon, basil, mint and parsley. The whole thing gets a light dressing of olive oil and lemon juice and is sprinkled with pecorino or ricotta salata, the Italian sheep’s milk cheese that’s perfect for summer dishes, mild, slightly nutty-sweet and a little crumbly.

Or saute flat, wide Romano beans with shallots, garlic and fresh oregano until the beans are tender but still have an edge of crispness. Cook them for a couple minutes more with some cherry tomatoes, then drizzle over a tiny bit of balsamic vinegar.

Take advantage of fresh favas while you still can; they’re great with a splash of citrus and olive oil and some chunks of pecorino. Match the creamy beans with crisp charred romaine that gets brushed with a little garlic-infused olive oil before being grilled.

Along with sips of a grassy Verdicchio or an herby Arneis, these charming first courses turn that eternal wait for dinner into a magic hour of anticipation.

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1 ¼ cups uncooked farro

1 bay leaf and sprig of thyme tied together with kitchen string

Salt

1 small red pepper

½ cup shelled English peas, blanched

2 tablespoons mixed chopped tarragon, basil, mint and parsley

1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 to 6 tablespoons grated fresh pecorino cheese or ricotta salata

Wash and drain the farro. In a medium saucepan, cover the farro with 4 cups cold water, then add the sachet of bay leaf and thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer. Season with one-half teaspoon salt. Cook until the farro is tender, about 25 to 30 minutes, then drain. Let cool. You should have about 3 cups cooked farro.

While the farro is cooking, roast the red pepper on a rack over a gas burner over high heat, turning until all sides are blackened, about 10 minutes. Let the pepper stand in a covered bowl until cool, then peel and seed. Cut into medium dice. You will need 6 tablespoons diced pepper. Leftover pepper can be reserved for another use.

In a medium bowl, toss together the farro, roasted pepper, the peas and the mixed herbs. Add the lemon juice and olive oil and toss. Add three-fourths teaspoon salt, or to taste.

Let the salad stand 10 minutes for the flavors to blend. Divide equally onto four to six plates and sprinkle with the freshly grated pecorino cheese or ricotta salata.

From Fraiche chef-owner Jason Travi. To blanch the peas, place them in boiling water until just tender, about 1 minute, then immediately place them in an ice bath and drain.

Betty Hallock

Betty Hallock is deputy Food editor at the Los Angeles Times. She has co-written four cookbooks, including “Bäco: Vivid Recipes from the Heart of Los Angeles,” “Amá: A Modern Tex-Mex Kitchen” and “Baking at République.” She started her journalism career at the Wall Street Journal and Scientific American in New York, worked on the L.A. Times’ Business desk, and was interim food editor at Los Angeles Magazine. Hallock also helped launch a food and nutrition vertical for wellness app RoundGlass. She’s a graduate of UCLA and New York University.