Summer eat without the heat

So summer is here with a vengeance this week, and the dashboard display in my car is telling me it’s 99 degrees out there. Sheesh! Global warming seems blissfully unaware that I just wasn’t made to survive this kind of heat. Why only today, while walking the dog, some strange wet stuff started coming out of my pores. I have no clue what it was, but I think I might be melting.

All in all, you would think that this would dissuade me from cooking altogether, but heck no! It just prompts me to search my growing collection of cookbooks for cool new salad recipes to try, salads which require at most the use of one burner for a few minutes, and then no more heat generation. One of the most popular recipes I have ever posted was the Farrar Farro Salad I made last year (click here to see that posting), so it’s time for another foray into the wonderful world of farro, especially since Trader Joes stocks that farro that only needs ten minutes to boil J

The original recipe comes from a book called Grain Mains by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough, who also wrote one of my current favorites The Great American Slow Cooker. I was forced to tweak the recipe, not just because of my penchant for messing with things, but also because I couldn’t find smoked chicken, which the original called for. I have to say though, it was delicious with simple roast chicken instead, and would also be a great vegetarian option with no meat at all, and perhaps a few extra veggies thrown in. I served it as an entrée with a simple green salad on the side.

Farro and Chicken Salad with Cardamom and Chutney

Serves 4-6

1 cup whole grain farro

¾ lb roast or smoked chicken breast, chopped

¾ cup roasted pecan pieces

1/3 cup light/low-fat  mayonnaise

1/3 cup low-fat plain yoghurt

¼ cup mango chutney

3 celery stalks, finely chopped

6 small jarred pickled onions (cocktail onions), finely chopped

2 TBSP fresh lemon juice

1 TBSP grated fresh ginger

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt

½ tsp ground cardamom

½ cup fresh chopped cilantro (coriander leaves)

1. Cook farro according to directions and then rinse in cold water and leave to cool completely.
2. Dump cooked farro into a large bowl and stir in remaining ingredients