Autumn Roasted Carrot and Apple Farro Salad

Yesterday at work, a customer asked me how to prepare farro, as she was trying to incorporate more whole grains into her diet.  Luckilly, I knew how to cook it and was able to help!  One of my favorite parts of working in the deli at a health food store is being able to help people like her.  It makes me happy to be able to give good advice on food, and help people eat healthier in turn.  After the little tutorial on farro, I started to think about how good it would be in a salad for dinner.  A leafy salad just wouldn't cut it as I was hungry, but a grain salad would be perfect!  Not wanting to spend money I decided that I would make it with things I already had on hand.  A carrot, a cipollini onion, and an apple.  Perfect!  I decided to roast them to bring out the flavor, then combine them with cooked farro, some fresh thyme and toasted walnuts in a cider vinaigrette.  It was delicious! 

All too often I forget about how tasty grains other than the usual rice and quinoa are.  Thank goodness that lady asked me about the farro and gave me the idea to make it venturing out of the same old rut!  Funny how that worked, I helped her, but she also helped me.  Here is the recipe I made if you would like to enjoy it!

Autumn Roasted Carrot and Apple Farro Salad

Serves 2

2 cups water
3/4 cup farro
1 medium cipollini onion, cut into wedges
1 large carrot, sliced
1 medium tart apple cut into large dice
olive oil
1/2 cup toasted walnuts
1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 Tbsp walnut oil
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp dijon
sea salt and pepper to taste

Combine the water and farro in a medium saucepan. Add 1 teaspoons of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the farro is tender, about 30 minutes. Drain well, and then transfer to a large bowl to cool.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 475 degrees, and line a large sheet pan with foil.  Toss carrots and onions with just enough olive oil to coat and spread out on one side of sheet pan.  Scatter apples on the other side and roast for about 10 minutes until the apples are starting to soften.  Remove apples from pan, and add to bowl with the farro.  Return carrots and onions to the oven and continue to roast until starting to brown at edges and carrots are tender.  Let cool slightly then add to the bowl.  Add walnnuts and thyme, then whisk together vinegar, oils, syrup, mustard and sea salt and pepper to taste and add to the bowl.  Toss to coat, and serve at room temperature. 

Creamy Roasted Autumn Root Vegetable Soup with Cornbread Croutons

My day is often filled with soup...chopping veggies for, cooking, and refilling soup.  I guess that is a deli in the cold months!  It is always "Will you be bringing out more soup?  You don't have anymore? When are you making...I had my heart set on it!"  The talk of soup is never ending.  You would think I would be sick of soup with the amount of it that I make at work and see every day...but no, apparently not!  I decided to make some the other night...some that I felt like eating that would be healthy and comforting.  I had a large amount of root vegetables in my fridge, carrots, rutabagas and parsnips.  I knew that they would make a delicious soup, especially if I roasted them first to deepen their sweet flavors.  Of course, I had to sample a few after they had been roasted before they made it into the soup...that is part of the fun of cooking for yourself!  I combined the roasted veg with some pureed squash for sweetness, some onions and garlic, and some thyme and rosemary, as they are my favorite herbs this time of year.  I wanted my soup to be as creamy and comforting as something that contained cream, so I added almond butter for silkyness along with almond milk.  To give the soup the flavor of parmesan cheese I included miso, and nutritional yeast as well.  It tasted as if there were lots of things that were not so good for you in it, but I knew the truth!  The soup was delicious, creamy, and comforting as it was, but I like adornments so I added some corn bread croutons and vegan sour cream to top it off!  I served it alongside a salad, and I was one happy girl!  You can never have too many vegetables as far as I am concerned...and this soup is a good way to enjoy them!

Creamy Roasted Autumn Root Vegetable Soup with Cornbread Croutons

Serves 6

3 large carrots, sliced

3 large parsnips, sliced

2 medium rutabagas, sliced

olive oil

1 large red onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups pumpkin or squash puree
4 cups vegetable stock

3 cups almond or soy milk

2 Tbsp almond butter
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp sea salt
freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup light miso

2 cups cubed corn bread
olive oil
sea salt

vegan sour cream

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees with the rack set at the top position.  Line 3 large baking sheets with foil, and spray with non-stick spray.  Toss carrots, parsnips, and rutabagas with just enough olive oil to coat, and spread out on 2 of the sheets.  Roast in the oven for about 15-20 minutes until softened and starting to brown at the edges.  Remove from oven and lower temp to 375.  Meanwhile, heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large stockpot over medium heat.  Add onions, and saute until translucent and starting to caramelize, about 7-10 minutes.  Add garlic and saute a minute, then add pumpkin, vegetable stock, almond milk, almond butter, thyme, rosemary, sea salt, pepper, yeast, miso, and roasted veggies.  Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes to allow flavors to blend.  Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth (you can also use a blender and puree in batches, but allow steam to escape, or let cool a bit before blending to prevent the soup making the top of the blender explode).  To make croutons, toss cornbread with a little olive oil, and spread out on remaining sheet pan.  Sprinkle with a little sea salt, and bake until crunchy, about 10 minutes.  To serve soup, ladle some into a bowl, and top with a bit of vegan sour cream and croutons!

Autumnal Salad

Yesterday in the produce department there were several veggies that were calling my name...kale, edamame, carrots, and parsnips.  Specifically I picked these veggies because they were locally grown in Minnesota and they were beautiful, being that they were so fresh.  It thought that they might make a wonderful hearty fallish soup to serve that night along with some home made bread, which I had yet to make.  So, I bought them, but then the rest of the day happened, and well, you know how it goes, I didn't have nearly as much time as I thought I would to prepare dinner.  So, I nixed the home made bread idea, and since it had warmed up quite a bit outside, I decided that a salad would be better than a soup for dinner.  So I used the ingredients I had bought to make one!  I roasted the carrots and parsnips until they were nice and crispy at the edges, blanched the kale until bright green, and threw in the edamame along with some mild shallots I had picked up as well, and some toasted walnuts, because I like a little crunch.  I dressed the salad with a bit of Asian fusion...peanut oil, balsamic and tamari with a bit of honey, garlic and red pepper flakes.  When it all came together it was incredibly delicious, and definately the best early Autumn could offer in a salad!  The flavors worked well together, the caramelized roasted veg, the savory shallots, the toasty walnuts along with the kale and the salty sweet dressing.  I was glad I didn't make soup that night in the end.  If you have access to these autumn vegetables,  you should try out this salad! 

Amy's Autumnal Salad
Serves 2

Dressing:

1 1/2 Tbsp peanut oil
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp tamari
1 Tbsp honey
1 clove garlic, minced
sea salt to taste
red pepper flakes to taste
Salad:
2 medium carrots, sliced thinly on the bias
2 medium pasnips, sliced thinly on the bias
peanut oil

1 bunch kale, washed, and torn into pieces

1 cup edamame, shelled

1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 cup toasted walnuts

Whisk together dressing ingredients and set aside.  Preheat the oven to 475 degrees, line a baking sheet with foil, and spray with non-stick spray.  Toss carrots and parsnips with just enough peanut oil to coat, and spread out on sheet pan.  Roast for about 15 minutes, or until starting to brown and crisp at the edges.  Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature.  Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, and cook kale for about 30 seconds, until blanched, and bright green. Remove with a strainer, and run cold water over the kale to stop cooking, then let cool.  In a large bowl, combine carrots, parsnips, kale, edamame, shallot, and walnuts.  Pour dressing over and toss to coat.  Divide between 2 plates and serve!