pesto salmon bowls with farro
It may not look like it on Instagram, but pasta is less of my true way of life than it is a branding decision. I typically only eat it once a week, almost always between Thursday and Saturday. The rest of the time I cook and eat like this.
Though barely a recipe and definitely lacking the narrative weight of a ragù, this is exactly what I think of when I think of Italian cooking: simple sexy ingredients minimally messed with, low-key and unassuming yet calibrated for a perfect balance of salt, fat, and acid. It’s kind of a salad, kind of an entreé, barely composed, but highly sophisticated; it’s the kind of thing you can put together easily in any size kitchen with pride knowing someone in Los Angeles is paying $18 for similar at brunch. The template works with all kinds of grains and greens, and because the components can be prepared separately, this can easily be doubled or tripled into lunches for the week—just store the farro separately and re-warm before tossing with the greens (I prefer leftover salmon cold).
RECIPE
Clean supreme. Arugula, fennel, and slow-roasted salmon make a green-n-grain bowl dressed with pesto and lemon juice.
Effortful time: 5 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes
Serves 2
you need
2 6oz salmon filets, skin removed
1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup quick-cooking farro
1 1/3 cups water
3 oz. arugula
1/2 a fennel bulb, thinly sliced, optional
2 tbsp. prepared pesto; I used American Basil dairy-free Pesto Perfectto
Juice of 1 lemon
make it
Get prepped. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Salt and pepper the salmon filets and coat lightly in olive oil, then lay in a baking dish (you can use foil for easy cleanup). Trim the root end of the fennel and isolate the bulb, cut it in half, then remove the inner core by making a triangular cut. Shave one half of it thinly and keep the rest for something else.
Cook the farro. Bring 3/4 cup water to a boil and cook 1/2 farro for 1 minute. Cover and lower heat to a simmer. Let this cook for 15 minutes, then remove from the heat (keep it covered!) and let stand 5 minutes more.
Roast the salmon for 15 minutes. Put this in right after you cover your farro.
Assemble. Put the arugula and shaved fennel to a bowl. Add the cooked farro to the bowl; it will start to wilt the greens. Dress with the 2 tbsp of pesto, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt, tossing with tongs. Take the salmon and gently flake it on the baking dish, then add to the bowl and gently stir (we add this last so it doesn’t fall apart). Serve it up!