I believe in eating healthy food. I do NOT, however, believe in eating anything that’s less than delicious. And these two things can sometimes be at odds with each other! When that happens, I’m only a little bit sad to say that I will choose to follow the “delicious” angle over the “healthy” one 10 times out of 10. So this year, I’m going to make more meals that meet both of these criteria. Starting with this insanely delicious farro meal.
Have you had farro? It’s one of my favorite whole grains. It tastes slightly nutty and cooks up a little chewy and toothy. The grains also love to soak up dressings and vinaigrettes to absorb lots of flavor. And another bonus: it has tons of fiber and protein to fill you up.
I used quail eggs in my recipe because they are so stinking cute and they’re pretty ubiquitous here in Japan. You may not be able to find them, but you can soft-boil chicken eggs and you won’t even notice the difference. They add a little bit of richness to the dish, without using butter or cream.
If you don’t like scallops, you could just as easily substitute chicken. Or beef. Or pork. Or even leave out the protein entirely to make it vegetarian! You can’t go wrong as long as you have the creamy and bright dressing on nutty farro.
- 6 quail eggs (or 2 chicken eggs)
- 3/4 cup of dried farro (perlato cooks faster, but use whatever kind you like!)
- 1 + 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- about 8 oz of your favorite mushrooms, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 3 medium to large sea scallops (if frozen, thaw on a paper towel-lined plate in the refrigerator)
- salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons chopped preserved lemon
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- A few cracks of freshly ground pepper.
- 2 tablespoons high-quality extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon water
- a small handful of your favorite microgreens
- high-quality extra virgin olive oil
- 1. Soft boil the eggs. Fill a saucepan 2/3 of the way with cold water and bring to a boil. Use a spoon to gently place the quail eggs in the water. Cook for 2.5 minutes. Remove and shock in ice water to stop cooking. Peel the eggs and cut them in half from pole to pole. Set aside. (I'm not even going to enter the "best way to soft boil eggs" debate, so if you're using chicken eggs then just use your favorite method!)
- 2. You can use the same pan to cook the farro according to the package's instructions (I used farro perlato and cooked it in a lot of lightly salted water for about 35 minutes). Drain in a colander (don't worry about removing all of the water though, some is fine!). Return to the warm pan, cover and set aside until ready to plate.
- 3. While the farro is cooking, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and heat until shimmering. Add the mushrooms to the pan and toss in the oil to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Saute the mushrooms until tender and golden brown, about 6 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside. Wipe the pan clean with a paper towel.
- 4. Return the pan to high heat. Add 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil. Pat the scallops VERY dry with a paper towel and season both sides with salt and pepper. Sear each side of the scallops for about 90 seconds, until a brown crust forms but the centers are still translucent. Remove from the heat.
- 5. Make the dressing. Combine the lemon, tahini and pepper in a small bowl. Whisk in the olive oil. Whisk in the water gradually and make sure it's emulsified.
- 6. Add the mushrooms and the dressing to the warm farro. Divide the farro between 2 plates and top with scallops and egg halves. Sprinkle with microgreens and drizzle with a little bit of amazing olive oil. Add a crack of fresh pepper.
One year ago: Relaxing Black Tea Foot Soak. I think we can all probably use this right about now!
The soft-boiled eggs in this dish have stolen my heart, Alyssa! Also those scallops. Swoooon.
Thanks, Sarah! I didn’t fully appreciate a soft-boiled egg until moving here. You can buy soft-boiled chicken eggs in the grocery stores and convenient stores. Brilliant!
This looks delicious 🙂 I’m all about healthy+yummy recipes. Might try yours soon! Thanks for sharing