Green Bean and Farro Salad with Tahini Dressing

, from Issue #76. January, 2018
Photography by Manja Wachsmuth.
Green Bean and Farro Salad with Tahini Dressing

The farro can be cooked up to 2 days ahead of serving. I love having this dressing in the fridge as it goes well with most salads.

Serves: 8

INGREDIENTS

1 cup farro, rinsed and drained
1 cup frozen edamame beans
1 cup frozen peas
200 grams slim green beans, stem end trimmed
400-gram tin borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
1 avocado, sliced
Dressing
¼ cup each olive oil and vegetable oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
½ teaspoon ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, crushed
small handful each mint and parsley leaves
sea salt and ground pepper

METHOD

Dressing: Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth and it turns a lovely green colour.

Cook the farro in plenty of water until just tender. Drain and rinse in cold water then drain well again. Tip into a large bowl
and toss with half of the dressing.

Blanch the edamame beans, peas and beans separately in a large saucepan of boiling salted water. Lift each batch out with a slotted spoon then immediately plunge into chilled water to refresh. Drain on kitchen towels.

To serve: Add the beans, peas and spring onions to the farro and toss together. Transfer to a serving platter and arrange the avocado on top, serving the remaining dressing separately. Serves 8.

Cook’s note:
We served the salad with skewers of cherry tomatoes, which were lightly grilled.