We picked up some farro perlato on our trip to Italy, and it is amazing! Pearled farro cooks in 20 minutes, in comparison to regular spelt (which is either the same thing or a very close relative) which takes over an hour. Both are yummy, although the pearled variety was obviously way more convenient. I made this into a salad inspired by Heidi Swanson (I love her “Super Natural Every Day”) and Yottam Ottolenghi (his vegetarian cookbook called “Plenty” was my bday gift to myself.), using what I got at the Bonn market. Because I am writing about this a month after the fact, I forgot how I made it! Luckily I took photos and kept my “brainstorm list” so I can sort of explain it. This proves how helpful the blog can be, as long I post the recipes in a timely fashion This obviously didn’t happen in May.

Because I was really making an effort, and because the celery was huge, I de-stringed (de-strung?) it.

I sectioned an orange and used the juice run-off for the dressing, along with some lemon juice, spring onion, olive oil and sea salt. I wanted to give it some time “for the flavors to meld” while the farro was cooking.

Don’t mind the tofu, that was a side dish along with the bottomless supply of spinach.

Tossed  together the cooked (and cooled) farro, oranges, celery, sliced spring onion, avocado, citrus zest and dressing. Sprinkled with some parmesan.

I was slightly curious how this would turn out, but I liked it, and so did Milo. Buono Appetito!