Buttermilk Farro Salad

buttermilk farro salad, originally uploaded by michele wynne.

I went to a party last week. I rarely go to shindigs that require dress-up so I was quite distressed to discover that my favorite dress pants were alarmingly snug, you know that unfortunate midriff tightening that turns your pants pockets into gaping mouths, giving the appearance of 18th century panniers (think Marie Antoinette). After my initial horror, I was forced to switch tactics, I yanked off the sparkly t-shirt and replaced it with a dress, that oh-so-chic, 70's revival style of  dress and pants at the same time. I immediately followed that with a very firm commitment to amp up the veggies in my day-to-day kitchen/break-room strategy. Then I went to the party and ate stacks of herbed chicken on focaccia sandwiches, food truck gourmet pizza, and kettle chips (love 'em), rounding it all out with many glasses of white wine and salted lavender cookies.
The very next day...

...enter this really luscious Buttermilk Farro Salad I found over at 101 Cookbooks.

I was bitten with the grain bug when I first made this California Barley Bowl a couple of weeks ago. The addition of a plump nutty grain to any combination of greens and/or vegetables, then tossed with a tangy dressing is an amazingly filling and satisfying meal in a bowl. Toasted nuts, seeds, dried fruit, crumbly cheese, shaved cheese and avocado can be tossed in for more complexity, but that's not necessary in this salad. I had to rein in the urge to prematurely tweak, so I didn't crumble the remnants of my Pt. Reyes Original Blue Cheese over this or fan out some thinly sliced avocado to top things off.
Nope. I stuck to my guns, and followed the recipe as directed because I trust that Heidi knows when enough is enough. Besides, I've got a freezer full of grains to play around with now and as it turned out, this was exactly all that it needed to be.

Two things that make me very happy in a salad are shaved vegetables and buttermilk. I love the word "buttermilk". There's just something warm and fuzzy about it that brings to mind a kindly, apron-clad grandmother in a cotton print dress, baking biscuits in a big country farm kitchen.

Anyhoo, it is time, once again, for the millionth time, to revive the veggie challenge. Except it's not really a challenge anymore. I just need to focus and ignore those diversions that lead me to places like this and this and this.

I also want to share two of my favorite cooking tips:

The first, is strategy for fool-proof cooking of your chosen grain. This is the boil and steam method I got from Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. It takes some attention, but it you don't have a rice cooker, it turns out a grain to exactly your preference.

The second tip, from 101 Cookbooks (of course), is to cook up a big batches of various grains and freeze in 2 cup portions. I do this with beans too. I use the smaller freezer bags and then insert the filled bags in larger freezer bags.

TO PREPARE THE GRAIN:

• start with a large pot that either has a steaming insert or will fit a colander inside
• rinse the grain well in a mesh strainer with lots of cold water
• put on a kettle of water to boil
• fill the pot with cold water to about the halfway point or at least twice the volume of grain and bring to a boil
• add a generous amount of salt and/or bouillion seasoning (if desired)
• add your rinsed grain
• boil your chosen grain just until it's chewy
• drain the grain in a colander
• cover with aluminum foil pressed down onto the surface of the grain
• pour some of the boiling kettle water into the pot-about an inch in depth- make sure the water  is not  going to touch the bottom of the colander
• Turn up the heat to high for a minute or so, until it boils, then lower to a simmer and set the colander into the pot and cover with a lid.
• Steam for 10 minutes, fluff with a fork and taste. Repeat until it reaches your desired texture of chewiness-just don't let it get soft.

TO FREEZE:


The idea behind this method, rather than rinsing with cold water to quick cool the grain, is not to introduce more water, which will crystalize in the freezer.

• place a baking sheet in the freezer (or 2 if you have the space)  about the same time you've transferred the colander into the pot to steam.
• when the grain is ready, remove the colander from the pot and set it on the counter to cool, giving it a toss every now and again to let off steam.
• remove the baking sheet from the freezer and transfer the grain, spreading it over the entire surface of the baking sheet.
• let the grain sit for a few more minutes until it stops steaming.
• place the baking sheet in the freezer for 10 minutes.
• remove the baking sheet from the freezer and transfer the grain into freezer bags and/or storage containers, depending on the amount you plan to use within the next two days.

TO THAW:

• Remove the bag of grain from the freezer, open the bag and let it thaw at room temperature for about 15 minutes.
• Over a mesh strainer, break apart the still frozen pieces to get them out of the bag and tumble the grain into the strainer.
• Rinse with cold water to break apart the grain, then shake away the excess water (the remaining water will be enough to steam and moisten the grain)
• Place the grain into a glass bowl and microwave for a minute, remove, stir, taste, then microwave again for a minute, just until the chill is off.

Caramelized Onion, Kale and Rice Gratin

Caramelized Onion, Kale and Rice Gratin, originally uploaded by michele wynne.

There have been many, many kitchen epiphanies over the last 6 months I've been working at Bi-Rite. There is one standout that has transformed my little kitchen: Cheese.

Previously, aside from the occasional purchase of true Parmigiano Reggiano and Azur Blue cheese from the infrequent excursion to the Whole Foods cheese counter,  those giant blocks of supermarket bright orange cheddar, jack and mozzarella were little kitchen staples.
Our cheese counter at Bi-Rite is my Happy Place and my favorite part about working The Creamery-the area in the store where we sell our amazing hand made ice cream. I love the ice cream, but I love the cheese more and the position of the cheese counter smack-dab next to me all day long...well...let's just say that there are suckier ways to spend an 8 hour work day. So when I brought home a bunch of greens and was contemplating my usual brown rice/quinoa bowl, somewhere in the back of my brain I heard the word gratin. Coincidentally, my sister has been posting on her Facebook page, her kitchen explorations of the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook I gave her for Christmas last year, so not to be outdone, I pulled out mine and made this. It's slight riff on one of my favorite recipes. 

In my kitchen, Twice Rescued Kale, Spinach, Dandelion Green, Caramelized Onion, Three Cheese and Brown Rice Gratin is a more fitting, if tedious title and probably not all that appealing I'd hazard to guess...but this one was off-the-hook good. I credit the cheeses. This pan was like crack. I finished the entire thing off, all by myself, in two days.

Earlier this week I came home with two new cheeses and I made this killer grilled cheese sandwich from smitten kitchen using what is now my favorite cheddar, Cabot Vintage Cheddar. It's perfectly sharp and melty. Unbelievably flavorful.  Along with it, I bought Beecher's Flagship Reserve, an English Clothbound Cheddar, which also produced a tasty grilled cheese sandwich. The Beecher's is harder, and flavorfully sharp. It can be used like a parmesan. I used the last bits of these along with some Parmigiano Reggiano. Good lord, I can't wait to make a mac and cheese with this.

 

Here's the recipe from the book. It's amazing.

wild rice gratin with kale, caramelized onions, and baby swiss

from the smitten kitchen cookbook

wild rice:

5 cups cooked wild rice (from 1 2/3 cups, 10.5 ounces, 300 grams uncooked)

        **I used brown rice because it's what I had on hand**

caramelized onions:

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 large sweet onions, halved and thinly sliced

1/2 tablespoon table salt

freshly ground black pepper

4 cups stemmed, ribboned kale leaves (from an 8 ounce or 225 gram bundle)

       **I used a mixture of kale, spinach and dandelion greens**

assembly:

2 cups (8 ounces or 225 grams) coarsely grated Emmentaler or another Swiss cheese

     **my mix: Parmigiano Reggiano, Beechers Flagsghip Reserve Cheddar and Cabot Vintage Cheddar

2 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 tablespoon to grease dish, 1 tablespoon melted, for crumbs)

3/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth

1 cup (60 grams) fine, dry breadcrumbs

table salt

freshly ground black pepper

Cook the rice according to package directions, but if you're like me and buy your rice in bulk and don't own a rice cooker, boil up a big pot of salted water, dump in your rinsed rice, boil the crap out of it until it becomes chewy and then drain the rice into a collander, flatten a piece of aluminum foil down onto the surface of the rice, add about a cup of water back into your cooking pot and turn the heat to high, put the colander back into the pot and cover, turning the heat to low once it's come to a boil. Steam the rice until it reaches the texture you like.

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Meanwhile, caramelize the onions:

Heat the butter an olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions, sprinkle with salt and a little pepper, and cook until they're tender and sweet, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Add the kale ribbons, and cook until they wilt a bit, about 5 minutes. Stir together the onion-kale mixture, rice and one cup of grated cheese in a large bowl. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper if you need to.

Assemble the gratin: Use 1 tablespoon of butter to generously coat a 2 quart baking dish. Spread the rice mixture into the dish and pour broth over it. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top. Toss bread crumbs with 1 tablespoon melted butter and salt and pepper to taste: sprinkle over cheese.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a little bubbly and beginning to brown on top.