Farro Salad (p. 76)

I've never made anything with farro before, and wasn't even really sure what it was. I went to Food Lion and asked for it, describing it as a sort of Mediterranean grain, and they tried to send me to the Mexican food aisle, so Trip 1 in my quest for farro was a fail. Trip 2 was to Fresh Market where I found it right away in the pasta aisle, expensive and vacuum-packed and looking like bird seed.

The farro needs to sit in water for about an hour before being cooked. Once that time has passed, drain it and put it in a sauce pan along with vegetable broth. The cooking time may vary for your farro -- mine took about 20 minutes until the grains were tender.

Drain the farro again and put it in a bowl along with olive oil and lemon juice. Stir in the rest of the chopped ingredients: cucumber, scallions, radishes, red onion, and celery.

Add salt and pepper and set aside for at least 30 minutes so the farro can absorb the flavors of the veggies.

I really enjoyed this, but if I made it again I would add some form of vinegar along with the olive oil and lemon juice. I just wanted it to have a little more of a punch to it.

radishes -- $1.19

vegetable broth -- $2.99 (half left)

scallions -- $.59

celery -- $1.39 (only used 1 stalk)

red onion -- $.96 (used half)

farro -- $8.99 (I feel like I got ripped off, but where else can I get it?)

Total Cost of Farro Salad: $16.11 (this makes a lot -- it'll probably be part of my lunch all week)