Hearty Vegetable Farro Salad on "Making It Grow"

I recently had the privilege of doing a cooking demo on the Emmy award-winning show 'Making It Grow' to promote Earth Fest 2016, a free event at USC where you'll learn "how your palate affects the planet."  'Making it Grow' is a gardening and food show so naturally I was in heaven.  And the host, Amanda McNulty, was such a genuinely wonderful, caring, amazing woman and host.  It was such an honor just to meet her and I highly recommend watching her! 

Trish and Amanda McNulty, the amazing host of the Emmy award-winning show 'Making It Grow'. 

Erik and I prepped a farro salad which I demoed on the show.  Farro is a variety of whole grain wheat that is used frequently in Italian cooking.  It has a creamy and slightly chewy texture and a nutty flavor.  It’s excellent used in vegetable soups, sprinkled on top of salads or used as a salad base as it’s used in this recipe.  

The slow-roasted, organic, heirloom farro we used for the 'Making It Grow' episode was generously donated by another amazing South Carolina company, Anson Mills.  Anson Mills specializes in growing and distributing organic, heirloom crops.  

Enjoy the below 8 minute clip of me demoing how to prepare this hearty vegetable farro salad from 'Making It Grow'.

Hearty Vegetable Farro Salad

Ingredients

• 3 cups cooked farro
• 1 shallot thinly sliced
• 10 cherry tomatoes cut in halves or quarters
• 1 small container crimini or baby bella mushrooms sliced
• ¼ cup fresh parsley (only the leaves picked from the stems)
• ¼ cup craisins (dried cranberries) (raisins can also be used)
• ½ bunch kale, destemmed and ripped into 1 in x 1 in pieces
• 1 cup vegetable broth (or water) for sautéing 
• 1-2 tablespoons sherry vinegar (balsamic vinegar can also be used instead) 
• Salt 
• Pepper

Directions

1. Cook farro according to package (this may require soaking the farro overnight so plan accordingly). 
2. Add shallot, tomatoes, parsley and craisins to a large mixing bowl.
3. Wilt kale by putting a pan on medium high heat.  Once hot, add 2-3 tablespoons of veggie broth and kale in a pan.  Frequently move and turn kale with tongs for about one minute until kale is bright green and slightly cooked down.  Add to bowl with other ingredients.
4. Saute mushrooms using tablespoons of veggie broth at time until evenly cooked (don't know how to saute without oil?  Click here to learn how easy it is).  Then add to bowl with all other ingredients.
5. Add farro on top of ingredients in the bowl.
6. Pour one tablespoon of sherry vinegar on top and season with salt and pepper. 
7. Toss until ingredients are mixed evenly.  
8. Taste to see if you need to add more vinegar and season with more salt and pepper.

Take Control Now Question

What's your favorite way to prepare farro?  If you've never had it, google "oil free vegan farro recipe" and share one recipe you could cook and possibly enjoy?  Share by clicking 'comment' below.