Fava, Farro, Pecorino, and Salami Salad
Photo: Laura Dart
"The pairing of favas and pecorino is a typical springtime dish in Rome--often you'll see them speared on toothpicks as a snack," says chef Joshua McFadden of Ava Gene's in Portland. "Here I'm tossing it all together with chewy farro and cubed salami to make a hearty but still springlike salad."
How to Make It
Step 1
1
Shell, blanch, and peel favas*.
Step 2
2
Put farro, favas, salami, pecorino, and scallions in a large bowl. Add 1/4 cup vinegar, the chile flakes, 1 tsp. salt, and lots of twists of black pepper, and toss. Let salad sit for about 5 minutes so vinegar soaks into farro.
Step 3
3
Add parsley and mint and toss. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Drizzle on a glug of olive oil, toss, and taste again--adjust as needed. Serve at room temperature.
Step 4
4
*Find pecorino fresco at well-stocked grocery stores. To prepare favas, split pods and pop out beans. Bring a pot of water to a boil, salt it generously, and drop in fava beans. Cook about 30 seconds, then immediately drain. Rinse well with very cold water. Cut a small slit in whitish membrane of each bean with the tip of a paring knife or your thumbnail, then gently squeeze out the two halves of the bright green fava.
Ingredients
2 1/2 pounds fava beans in their pods
2 cups [SUB_RECIPE_LINK {cooked and cooled Farro} {151587}]
1/4 pound salami, cut into 1/4-in.-thick slices and then into 1/4-in. dice
4 ounces pecorino fresco cheese*, cut into 1/4-in.-thick slices and then into 1/4-in. dice
1/2 bunch scallions, trimmed (including 1/2 in. off the green tops), thinly sliced on an angle, soaked in ice water for 20 minutes, and drained well
Red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon dried chile flakes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup loosely packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/4 cup loosely packed mint leaves
Extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
Step 1
1
Shell, blanch, and peel favas*.
Step 2
2
Put farro, favas, salami, pecorino, and scallions in a large bowl. Add 1/4 cup vinegar, the chile flakes, 1 tsp. salt, and lots of twists of black pepper, and toss. Let salad sit for about 5 minutes so vinegar soaks into farro.
Step 3
3
Add parsley and mint and toss. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Drizzle on a glug of olive oil, toss, and taste again--adjust as needed. Serve at room temperature.
Step 4
4
*Find pecorino fresco at well-stocked grocery stores. To prepare favas, split pods and pop out beans. Bring a pot of water to a boil, salt it generously, and drop in fava beans. Cook about 30 seconds, then immediately drain. Rinse well with very cold water. Cut a small slit in whitish membrane of each bean with the tip of a paring knife or your thumbnail, then gently squeeze out the two halves of the bright green fava.
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