(Another) Summer Salad: Farro, Corn, Plum Salad with Nuoc Cham Dressing
It has warmed up some in Orange County in the last couple of weeks, fluctuating as it normally does between its (relative) highs and lows. We continue to look for easy, healthy and stove-less recipes.
A favorite in the house is Bon Appetit magazine, which offered this particular recipe in their August 2021 issue. It is a lively and utterly guiltless salad of farro, corn and plums (!) - tied together with mint, basil and an excellent Nuoc Cham (Vietnamese) dressing.
It's combination of nutritious grain and tastes of summer got our taste buds reeling. In the end, where it could have been fairly tame, it's the sweet and hot accents of the Vietnamese dressing that brings the recipe home - without it, well, we shudder at the thought.
Where, as always, we source a recipe, we typically have to make modifications because of availability of ingredients. The recipe is dated July 6, 2021 and written by Rachel Gurjar.
And although deceptively straight-forward, there is a lot of prep, so make sure to have plenty of time. There is boiling of the farro, and we went with an extra touch of charcoal kissed corn, so getting our charcoal grill up to heat took time. Working with nice fresh ingredients like this awaken the mind - so look forward to some of that.
\Outside of its wonderful flavors, we also found that this salad will last several days very well. We were pleased to have it with more than a few dinners. And because it is relatively healthy, it made a nice addition to pretty much anything we were eating.
Recipe Below Serves 4, and doubles quite easily (and we recommend):
NUOC CHAM DRESSING
Juice of 2 limes - some pulp desirable
3 tbsp. fish sauce
2 tbsp. seasoned rice vinegar
1 tbsp. light or dark brown sugar
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
ASSEMBLY
½ cup semi pearled farro - (this may be difficult to find, but most large grocery stores should have a version of farro available)
1 tsp. Diamond Crystal of ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, plus more
3 ears of corn, husked
4 red plums (such as satsuma or Santa Rosa), cut into wedges - (this is basically any plums available, but a firmer plum is desired)
2 red or green Thai chiles, thinly sliced (we had to substitute (!) because there were none the day we went, we used habanero) - *also, please where gloves when handling habanero - let's just say we learned the hard way ;D
⅓ cup chopped mint
½ cup chopped thai basil or cilantro, plus leaves for serving
PREPARATION
NUOC CHAM
Step 1
Whisk lime juice, fish sauce, vinegar, brown sugar and garlic in a small bowl until sugar is dissolved; set dressing aside.
Do ahead: Dressing can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. This is recommended to have the flavors set over a day.
SALAD ASSEMBLY
Step 2
Bring farro, 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal of ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt and 1 quart water to a boil in a medium pot. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until farro is tender but still chewy, 20-25 minutes. Drain off any excess liquid and let cool.
Depending on your stove, you may need to cook until desired texture is found.
Step 3
Prepare a grill for medium-high heat. Grill corn, turning occasionally, until kernels are charred, 10-15 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and let sit until cool enough to handle. Cut kernels from cobs. Full kernels are desired for this recipe.
Step 4
Combine farro, corn, plums, chilis, mint, and ½ cup Thai basil in a large bowl and drizzle reserved dressing over; toss to coat. Taste and season salad with more salt if needed. Transfer to a platter and top with more Thai basil leaves.
Do ahead: farro can be cooked 1 day ahead. Transfer to an airtight container; cover and chill.
The dish was so simple to prepare and delicious - providing piquant accents, spicy and touches of umami to satisfy protein.
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