Cherry Farro Salad

Part 2 - Cherries from sweet to savory.  Cherries can make absolutely the best desserts, clafoutis (previous post) is a case in point.  But salads are a main stay of my DAILY DIET.  I believe everyone should have a big salad for at least one of their daily meals!  With ever changing seasons, salads never get boring.  Since it is CHERRY SEASON, I decided why not experiment with cherries in my salad.  The result was so delicious, I have made this salad a number of times with minor variations each time. 
In addition to the cherries in my salad, I also added FARRO (emmer wheat).  Including a grain or seed like farro or quinoa to your salad helps fill you up and gives another texture and a nutty flavor.  Added bonus, farro is a complex carbohydrate that stimulates the immune system, maintains blood sugar levels, and lowers cholesterol.  It is high in fiber and protein, contains vitamin B3 and minerals such as zinc, magnesium and iron.  Farro also contains lignan which provide antioxidant properties.

Recipe
Cherry Farro Salad
(adapted from Linden Hills Co-op)

Ingredients
1 cup farro, I used Trader Joes quick cook farro
2 teaspoons salt, optional
2 1/2 cups chicken, or vegetable broth or water
6 cups arugula
1-2 oz. raw almonds, roughly chopped
1 cup bing cherries, stemmed, pitted and halved
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1/2 cup goat cheese, crumbled
5-6 thin slices Serrano ham

Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Procedure
1.  In a 2 quart sauce pan bring chicken broth to a boil.  Add farro and cook over medium heat for 10-12 minutes.  Drain and set aside.
2.  In a small bowl whisk together vinaigrette ingredients.  Add diced red onion to vinaigrette. Add 3 tablespoons of vinaigrette to farro and stir.
3.  Preheat oven to 400 F. Place Serrano ham in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake for 5-7 minutes in preheated oven until ham is slightly crispy.  When cool break ham into bite size pieces.
4.  In a large bowl add arugula, almonds, cherries, crispy Serrano ham and farro.  Gently mix.
5.  Add just enough vinaigrette to salad to lightly moisten the salad greens - you may not use all the vinaigrette.  Top salad with goat cheese crumbles.  Gently toss and serve.

Cherry Season

 

 Life is a bowl of cherries not to be missed.  It is cherry season and beyond the pure beauty of a bowl of cherries, there are many reasons not to miss cherry season and eating more cherries.  The health benefits of cherries makes them a super fruit.  Cherries are high in potassium, anthocyanins, beta carotene, vitamin C, quercetin, fiber and antioxidants as a result, cherries may reduce inflammation, high blood pressure, heart disease, constipation and fight cancer.  Beyond all the nutritional benefits, cherries taste amazing!

Last week I started my cherry season adventures making a clafoutis (cla-foo-tee), a French dessert cake.  Actually I  made a few different variations before I fell in love with a recipe from Alice Water's "Chez Panisse Fruit" cookbook. I made a few tweaks to the recipe and oohed and ahhhed with each bite.

 

Recipe

Cherry Clafoutis

(adapted from "Chez Panisse Fruit" by Alice Waters)

 Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 lb. sweet cherries, washed, stemmed, and pitted

1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

small lemon, zested

2 eggs, separated

3 tablespoons almond flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 pinch of salt

powdered sugar for dusting

 

Procedure

1.  Preheat oven to 375 F

2.  Melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat.  Add the cherries, 1/4 cup sugar, cinnamon, and lemon zest.  Stirring occasionally.  Cook for about 7 minutes or until cherries are soft and tender.

3.  Arrange cherries in a single layer of a 9 inch baking dish.

4.  In a large bowl beat egg yolks and 3 tablespoons of sugar until creamy.  Add almond flour, vanilla and almond  extracts, and cream.

5.  In a separate bowl, beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until just stiff.

6.  Gently fold the egg whites into the egg yolk/flour batter until just blended.  Pour the batter over the cherries.

7.  Bake on top third of oven for about 20 minutes.  Cake is done when it is light brown and a tooth pick comes out clean.  Cool slightly and enjoy with a dusting of powdered sugar.

 

Serves 4-6