Imagine Thelma and Louise but with food. Lots and lots of food. And wine. That’s basically the story of my life the last few days. Remember a few years ago when Aida, Lillian and I hit the road to drive from LA to Austin on a 5 day road trip that took up all across the southwestern united states where we stuffed out faces silly? (if you want a good chuckle, feel free to click through to that link and check out the fact that I look like a 10 year old going to a tennis tournament in Roswell NM) We at everything in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. I mean, it’s part of our jobs. So we had to do it 🙂
Well, now we are doing it California style. Lillian, who lives up in the bay area, flew down to LA and then we all hopped in the car and started off to San Francisco for this years IACP conference.
Typically the trip from LA to SF would take about 5-6 hours. We’re doing it over the course of 4 days. First stop was Ojai. We’re currently in Paso Robles. Then we’ll head to Big Sur for a night and finally we’ll make it to San Francisco. We’ve been eating our way through these cities and having a ball. Not to worry, I’ll do some On The Road posts in the coming weeks and give you the full run down of our favorite discoveries in each city including restaurants, hotels and any fun quirky things we do on the side.
In order to prep for this road trip, there were a lot of salads in my life. And post road trip, you can bet there will be some more salads and detox in my life.
My most recent farmers market excursion ended with me coming home with about 10 bunches of asparagus and a boat load of basil. Clearly that meant one thing, Arugula, Asparagus and Farro Salad (with pesto) was destined for dinner. Thomas, my recently high cholesterol diagnosed husband, has decided that farro is his favorite grain. I was hoping he would go for quinoa, but apparently farro is more his jam. So needless to say, this salad has gone into the regular rotation. Sometimes, if I’m feeling extra jazzy, I’ll add in some grilled shrimp or chicken.
I also threw in some super delicious tomatoes and some freshly made basil spinach pesto. All in all this was a crazy healthy and flavor packed salad. And I’ll absolutely be needing some of this, in high doses, when I return from my road trip with a few of my fav ladies.
Arugula, Asparagus and Farro Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup farro
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 shallot thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic thinly sliced
- 1 bunch asparagus cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1/2 cup spinach basil pesto recipe link above
- 3 handfuls arugula
- 2 large tomatoes
- kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook the farro according to the package directions. Once fully cooked, drain any excess water and set the farro aside to slightly cool.
- In a medium saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the shallots and saute for 2-3 minutes until just translucent. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add the asparagus and saute until just tender but still slightly crisp in the center, about 4 minutes. Season the asparagus with salt and pepper.
- In a large bowl, toss together the cooked farro, asparagus, pesto, arugula and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper.
I love putting grains in my salad… and this is perfect for spring! LOVE IT!
I recently came home with WAY too much asparagus too…and happily found ways to put it to use. 😉
This salad looks completely wonderful! Love all of that arugula!
This salad looks delicious, Gaby. Your road trip sounds like a blast!
I’ve always wanted to roadtrip the California coast… or the southern US. I’m not picky. Can’t wait to hear more about your adventures. This salad sounds delicious and perfect for detoxing.
What a pretty salad Gaby! I want it….now 🙂 Have a great weekend!
Beautiful salad Gaby.Your trip sounds So fun!! see you Sunday!!!
Now this is my kind of salad!
This is ALL I want for dinner, Gaby!
Looks super healthy & pretty Gaby! Have a fun road trip!
I just love farro salads and I’m always looking for new ideas! Love how green this one is.
Perfect for lunch or dinner! Want some now please….
Fun! I love road trips. I grew up in San Luis Obispo county, so today you’re on my home turf. The salad looks yummy. Can’t wait to see you girls at IACP!
Mmmm. This will be the perfect potluck dish for this weekend.
Your road trip sounds so fun!!! And this salad looks pretty great too! 🙂
The road trip sounds fun and the salad looks delish!
I haven’t had farro in forever nd your road trip sounds so fun!!
I need to make more farro. Happy road trippin’!
A farro salad sounds delicious. That’s a great idea to add arugula and asparagus as well. Vegetables and grains are the best combo!
this salad is right up my alley! chockfull of goodness and heartiness! i wish we could go on roadtrips together 🙂 i swear we’d laugh our heads off!
Your trips, just like this salad, sound amazing!!! I need to get on both ASAP.
I just made this last night and added in shrimp. Sooooo good. Thanks, Gaby! xoxox
This looks so good! Can’t wait to try it!