Chiffonade’s Farro Niçoise with Sciabica Olive Oil

Though I am not a fan of “fusion” cooking (“Sushi parmigiana anyone?”), I felt Italian could meet French with minimal casualties. Italian farro meets a classic French Salade Niçoise. Below are the directions to prepare the components of this salade composeé or “composed salad”. Each individual vegetable salad is placed as a mound atop a bed of farro, which has been cooked till tender but still slightly chewy and tossed with Sciabica's Manzanillo Variety Fall Harvest Extra Virgin Olive Oil. This might seem like a tour de force, but many of the components of the salade can be completed early in the day and the final salade can be assembled just before serving.

This quantity can feed six people generously – or eight people as a first course.

Chiffonade’s Farro Niçoise with Sciabica Olive Oil

by Chiffonade

Components:

farro

hard boiled eggs

roasted peppers

roasted beets

roasted new red and white (or gold) potatoes

green beans (haricots verts)

roma tomato salad (recipe below)

roasted shallot vinaigrette

fresh Blackfin or Yellowfin tuna steaks or loins

anchovies

Niçoise olives

crusty bread to accompany

lettuce leaves in which to place individual salad components

To Prepare Farro:

2 cups farro (see note about farro types)

4 cups water

1 Tablespoon salt

3 Tablespoons Sciabica's Manzanillo Variety Fall Harvest Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Combine farro, water and salt in large saucepan. Cook 25-40 minutes, depending on type of farro (see package for specific cooking times). Pour Sciabica's Manzanillo Variety Fall Harvest Extra Virgin Olive Oil into cooked farro, stir to combine. Spread farro on a half sheet pan and cover with plastic or use a wide, shallow plastic container with a cover. Allow farro to cool to room temperature; then store in refrigerator until ready to use.

To Prepare Hard Boiled Eggs:

3-4 large eggs

ice bath for cooling cooked eggs

Place eggs into a small saucepan and add enough water to cover eggs by one inch. Bring water to a boil and immediately turn off heat. Cover the pan and set a timer for 10 minutes. After ten minutes, drain the eggs and place them in the ice bath. Allow the eggs to cool until easily handled. Peel eggs and place them in a small bowl; cover bowl with plastic. Store in refrigerator until ready to use. At time of service, slice eggs in half vertically. Yolks should be yellow and pliable. (If using extra-large eggs, allow two more minutes for eggs to cook.)

To Prepare Roasted Peppers:

1 large or two small red bell peppers

1 large or two small yellow peppers

Place peppers on stove burners and crank the heat to high. Turn peppers until evenly charred all over. Place peppers in a paper bag, crimp the bag and allow to steam 10-12 minutes.

Peel away char by rubbing surface of peppers with fingers. If peppers are intact (unbroken and with no holes) it is ok to rinse away bits of persistent char. Pull the peppers apart into strips, discard seeds. Place strips of pepper in a bowl with any accumulated juices from inside peppers, cover with plastic wrap and set aside. (The dressing will be applied to the peppers in this bowl.)

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

To Prepare Roasted Beets:

6 small baby beets of varying colors

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 Tablespoons Sciabica's Manzanillo Variety Fall Harvest Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Wash unpeeled beets and trim off root ends. Place beets on a 12” x 12” piece of aluminum foil and add thyme, salt, pepper and olive oil. Mix to coat ingredients. Seal the packet and place on a half sheet pan.

To Prepare Potatoes:

3 small white potatoes (creamers)

3 small red potatoes

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

2 Tablespoon Sciabica's Manzanillo Variety Fall Harvest Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Cut potatoes into large dice or small wedges. Place potatoes on a 12” x 12” piece of aluminum foil and add thyme, salt, pepper and olive oil. Mix to coat ingredients. Seal packet and place on the half sheet tray with the beets.

To Prepare Shallots for Dressing:

5-6 small shallots, peeled

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 Tablespoons Sciabica's Manzanillo Variety Fall Harvest Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Place shallots on a 10” x 10” piece of aluminum foil and add thyme, salt, pepper and olive oil. Seal packet and place on tray with potatoes and beets. Bake the three packets for 45 minutes. Check each for doneness and if not done, return tray to the oven until tender.

Set aside beets, potatoes and shallots to cool. Once cool enough to handle, peel and quarter beets. Place beets in a small bowl, cover with plastic and store in refrigerator until ready to use. (The dressing will be applied to the beets in this bowl.) Place potatoes in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. (The dressing will be applied to the potatoes in this bowl.) Shallots may remain crimped in their foil for use in the dressing.

To Prepare Green Beans:

½ pound green beans (preferably haricot verts)

1 teaspoon salt

Have ready an ice bath to shock the beans.

Bring about 2 quarts of water to a boil. Add salt. Blanch beans approximately 3 minutes. Shock immediately. Drain, place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. (The dressing will be applied to the beans in this bowl.) Store in refrigerator until ready to use.

To Prepare Tomato Salad:

1 cucumber

4 plum tomatoes

¼ small red onion

Peel cucumber, halve lengthwise and remove seeds with a spoon. Slice cucumber, place the slices in a medium bowl. Quarter tomatoes lengthwise. Remove and discard seeds and gel. Place in bowl with cucumbers. Thinly slice the red onion and add to bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside until ready to use. (The dressing will be applied to the tomato salad in this bowl.)

To Prepare Roasted Shallot Vinaigrette:

roasted shallots (and any accumulated juices)

1 Tablespoon fresh thyme

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

¼ to 1/3 cup red wine vinegar or white wine vinegar

1½ cups Sciabica's Manzanillo Variety Fall Harvest Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Place shallots, thyme, salt, pepper, Dijon and vinegar in a blender pitcher and blend on medium speed until shallots are chopped and ingredients are incorporated. Slowly dribble olive oil into blender on medium speed (may need to scrape down sides of blender during this process). Add more oil if a thinner consistency is desired. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.

To Prepare Tuna:

1-2 tuna steaks (depending on number of portions needed)

2 Tablespoons Sciabica's Manzanillo Variety Fall Harvest Extra Virgin Olive Oil

sprinkling of salt

This tuna is barely cooked. It is easiest to achieve this by holding the oiled tuna with tongs and simply “kissing” it to a dry nonstick pan as follows:

Rub oil on tuna steaks. Ensure proper ventilation (this cooking method may be smoky). Preheat a non-stick pan for 2 minutes on medium/high heat. Using tongs, hold tuna against the preheated pan for no longer a time than it takes for 1/16" of the tuna surface to become opaque. This should take around 30 seconds or less. Repeat on other side of tuna steak and on the sides of the steak; and continue until all steaks are seared. Place on a plate and store in refrigerator until ready to use.

To Prepare Niçoise Olives:

1 cup Niçoise olives

Niçoise olives are rarely sold pitted. The only prep for these is to pit them. Do not serve the olives with pits.

To Assemble the Salade Niçoise:

Choose a large, wide platter. Remove all salad components from refrigerator.

Stir farro and spoon it onto the platter in one even layer (do not compact farro, it should be aerated). It’s a good idea at this time to choose the approximate location for each of the individual salads and the tuna and eggs.

With the back of a large spoon, create a divot in the farro where the finished salads will be placed.

Add desired amount of vinaigrette to roasted peppers, beets, potatoes, green beans and tomato salads in their respective bowls. Carefully spoon the individual salads into the divots in the farro. (Optional: Place a lettuce leaf in each divot to receive the salads, or simply “frame” each divot with a strip of

lettuce). Slice the tuna into medallions or strips. Place the tuna and eggs and once in place, drizzle a small amount of Manzanillo on them; sprinkle each with a little salt and pepper. Roll the anchovies and place them in a group in a prominent place. If scattered, one may be accidentally served to an unsuspecting diner who may not like anchovies. Scatter Niçoise olives all over platter.

Serve slightly chilled with crusty bread.

NOTE: Pearled farro will take less time to cook than semi-pearled, which will take less time to cook than whole. Cooking time can range from 25-40 minutes, depending on the type of farro used. Be aware of the type of farro used and follow package directions for proper cooking times.