In a Pickle About Dinner?

I am in awe of contributor Jim Dixon of RealGoodFood for so many reasons…he works hard, he has a fabulous garden, he's a terrific writer and he makes good food from whatever fresh ingredients are at hand. Oh, yeah, and he's a genuinely nice guy. Here's a cold grain salad of his that I'm going to be making this summer to go with grilled meats or to have all by itself.

The weeks I do the farmers' market are long. I’m at the day job all week, and then my days off are consumed by getting ready and actually being at the market. But I love the seeing my regular customers and meeting new ones, the folks who haven’t discovered how good real extra virgin olive oil can be. So despite feeling a bit ragged, I really don’t mind.

However, I’m writing this Sunday evening, and I have another long day tomorrow. All of which is rationalizing why what follows may not really qualify as a recipe. But it does taste good.

Sort of Pickled Farro Salad

I had some assorted vegetables from Groundwork Organics in the refrigerator and I needed to come up with something for dinner. I cut up a few radishes, red and daikon, a carrot, cucumber and a bit of green cabbage (smallish, bite-sized pieces). It all went in a bowl, and I poured in some Katz late harvest Zinfandel vinegar (the Zinfandel, Sauvignon Blanc, and Viognier Honey all have what Italians call agrodolce, a sweet and sour flavor). A healthy pinch of flor de sal, a quick stir, and I set the bowl aside for a couple of hours for a sort of quick pickle.

Just before dinner, I tossed the vinegared vegetables with a bit of leftover cooked farro and a substantial drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Quite tasty.

See the RealGoodFood website for his upcoming PSU market dates.