TheKitchenSinkRecipes.comlavished by the season

lavished by the season

July 15 2010 by Kristin at The Kitchen Sink in Salad,Side » 22 comments

We’ve reached the point of the summer where I feel absolutely lavished by the season—its hot air and its sweeping, sun-singed blue skies and its meals taken outside and its swooping fireflies and its suddenly-full hydrangea bushes and its slow-paced strolls and its thwacking flip-flops and its long nights and its melting scoops of ice cream.

And then, as if this all weren’t enough, summer, as it stands now, has this: CORN. The corn is here! Man, I love corn. It’s very possibly my favorite piece of summer produce—eaten straight off the cob (conjuring, every single time, that fantastic scene in What About Bob, where Bob mmmmmmm‘s his way through Fay’s corn), shaved off the cob and eaten straight up, charred by the grill, toasted in a skillet, decadently drenched in cream. You could say that as Bubba is to shrimp, I am to corn. That’s quite a claim, I know—but I think it fits.

And, really, corn’s the only the thing that drew me into the kitchen this week, when work has been crazy (which means my time for cooking adventures is limited) and when Kevin has been out of town (which means my normal (and favorite) dining partner is out of the mix). I had a couple of ears, courtesy of Nichols Farm, in the bottom drawer of the fridge, rumbling around every time I opened the drawer, like a couple of fallen bowling pins. With each clattering drawer-opening, I wondered what fate the corn would meet.

I found out on Wednesday night, when I got home too late, exhausted and hungry. Without thinking much about it, I threw the dregs of a bag of farro into a deep skillet with some water. Meanwhile, I cubed a couple of gorgeous tomatoes into our big wooden salad bowl. Onto those I shaved the corn from the cobs, before tipping in a good amount of champagne vinegar, a few healthy grinds of pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. There was something un-green about the whole thing, so, at the last minute, I tossed in a couple of handfuls of baby arugula. When the farro had soaked up the water, becoming toothsome, I scraped it into the bowl, where its heat gently warmed the corn and wilted the arugula.

With a big bowl of the salad, I climbed the stairs to the roof, sank into my favorite deck chair and ate in the summer night—hot and still, quiet and glowy. And, lo, was it ever good—all of it. Summer, you spoil me.

Like I said, time was tight on Wednesday night, when I made this salad, so I don’t have any of the usual process photos. But I loved the dish and wanted to share it with you even without the typical bevy of photos. I threw in a few summer photos (from my Project 365 endeavor, which continues to chug along), for good measure. To counter-balance his absence from the actual eating of this post’s recipe, you’ll notice that most of these photos feature Kevin. It’s sappy, I know, but—hey—I like the guy.

Summer Farro Salad

Serves 1, generously (i.e., with leftovers)

As I said, I didn’t give this salad much thought when I was making it. So the recipe that follows is loose and absolutely suited to my tastes; you should adjust it to fit your own. In retrospect, I think I was drawing on this recipe, which I’ve made before, and this recipe, which caught my eye a while back, both of which were lodged somewhere in the subconscious, culinary corner of my brain.

olive oil, to taste
1/2 onion, diced finely
coarse salt, to taste
freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup farro
1 cup water
2 small, ripe tomatoes, chopped in large chunks
2 ears corn, husks removed and kernels shaved from the cob
2 handfuls baby arugula or other delicate green (alternatively, I bet a bunch of fresh herbs would be great)
a glug or so of champagne vinegar

Heat a couple teaspoons of olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper, and cook for several minutes, until the onions have softened and are becoming translucent. Add the farro, stirring for a minute or so. Add the water, cover the pan, and cook at a very gentle simmer, until the water is absorbed and the farro is soft (about 30 minutes).

Meanwhile, add the chopped tomatoes, shaved corn kernels and arugula to a large bowl. Dress with vinegar and oil, using a bit more vinegar and oil than you would use for the tomatoes, corn and greens alone (so the farro can soak up the excess).

When the farro is cooked, scrape it into the bowl with the dressed tomato-corn mixture. Toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

22 comments so far. »
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Shannalee says on July 15 2010 at 8:04 pm:

Oh, summer. Way to celebrate it–and PS way to stick with P365!
heather @ chiknpastry says on July 15 2010 at 8:29 pm:

those salads that are thrown together are the best – and you had some great ingredients on hand!

here’s to summer – humidity and all!
Kerry@Foodlovas says on July 15 2010 at 11:47 pm:

What About Bob!! I love that movie and my family will randomly burst into immitation “mmmmm’s” when eating something delicious. I laughed out loud when I read this
Jacqueline says on July 16 2010 at 3:13 am:

That looks lovely. I would really enjoy it, especially up on the roof on a warm evening with a glass of chilled white wine. Wonderful! It is raining here *humph*
Jessica @ How Sweet says on July 16 2010 at 3:38 am:

I wish I had a roof to go eat dinner on in the summer evenings. It sounds marvelous.
Maddie says on July 16 2010 at 3:53 am:

Way to be creative with food, even in the middle of a rough week. I hope you have a relaxing weekend! From the looks of your pictures, though, you’ve made it a very memorable summer already.
Tabitha (From Single to Married) says on July 16 2010 at 6:19 am:

I agree – there is something special about corn. We had a few ears the other night and it was some of the sweetest that we’ve had yet this summer!
Rose-Anne says on July 16 2010 at 9:59 am:

Aw, I love the photos of Kevin in this post! A nice change of pace, I think, though your process photos are always lovely.

Some of my favorite recipes come about from spontaneous, after-work cooking. There’s something so fun about not having it all planned out–the food tastes better to me, like it absorbed all that good cooking energy.
Dawn (KitchenTravels) says on July 16 2010 at 12:56 pm:

Salads that include grains and hover somewhere between cold and warm are some of my favorites. I actually like this mix of photos, too… kind of nice to shake things up a bit.

Here’s what I really want to know: what kind of ice cream is that?!?
Emily says on July 16 2010 at 3:42 pm:

Yum. This looks perfect for these hot days. I hope you’re cooking for two again ASAP.
Andrea [bella eats] says on July 17 2010 at 8:57 am:

These are my favorite kinds of meals, the ones that just…happen. A lovely salad to accompany your lovely words on summer. I hope you have many more evenings like this in the weeks ahead (plus Kevin, of course!).
my little expat kitchen says on July 18 2010 at 4:25 am:

Nothing better than a salad really. And summer is the best time for them. I’ve never tasted farro… I’m so curious about the taste.
Magda
caitlindentino says on July 18 2010 at 1:29 pm:

I can’t imagine we are the only ones, but I made that {almost} exact salad this week … spinach instead of arugula and softened the corn in a bit of brown butter which I then used for the dressing instead of the standard oil. Now if only summer could last all year, this is my favorite way to eat.

And even better if it could be followed with some ice cream like that!
The Rowdy Chowgirl says on July 19 2010 at 10:22 am:

So summery! And I think that adding arugula whenever food seems un-green is a good general priniciple!
my spatula says on July 21 2010 at 2:07 pm:

a perfect summer salad!
Peg says on July 21 2010 at 2:40 pm:

Your description of summer sounds as delicious as your pictures and recipes sound! Thank for sharing all of them!
Lindsay @ Pinch of Yum says on July 21 2010 at 7:34 pm:

I love that picture with the wine bottle and wine glass, and the sun in the back. Summer is the best!
nicole says on July 22 2010 at 8:51 am:

I LOVE these photos, actually — that gorgeous light, the slight informality … it feels like summer. And this was perfect to read today because I am making a wee dinner tomorrow night and am low on ideas … this, I think, will definitely be on the menu. So, thank you!
Jacqui says on July 22 2010 at 10:40 am:

love your summer photos, kristin. and the corn — oh, the corn!!! i am so with you on the corn.
jodye says on July 25 2010 at 8:54 pm:

I love grain salads, especially in the summer. The colors in your farro salad are beautiful!
molly says on July 27 2010 at 7:57 pm:

Mmmm, this is the second summery farro salad I’ve seen today (Clotilde has another over at C&Z). We rely heavily on them in the cooler months, but I do believe a summer version is now in the cards…
Eat, Memory | a glass of milk says on March 20 2012 at 7:12 pm:

[...] What I like most about food is the way one bite can bring back a memory long-since forgotten. More often than not, dinner is more than dinner. It’s a journal of every evening meal you’ve eaten from your single to your dating to your married (with children) years. It’s the casseroles you bring to others to let them know you’re there. It’s what you want when you need comforting, or when you’re surrounded by friends. [...]