Leek Soup – Dina Avila, Photographer

I’ve been meaning to make this for you for about a week now, but it got hot. Panting, melting, kitchen sweltering, air conditioner barely making a dent, 100 degrees hot. So, I waited. I waited until my arugula and mint wilted and for the mercury to drop. I waited until the farro dish evolved from a recipe inspired from a recent salad post on What Katie Ate, to its own entity as the ingredients wilted or shifted or were simply eaten. I had a burst of energy around 5 o’clock yesterday and, although it was much cooler than it has been, late afternoon is the warmest part of the day in our kitchen and I decided I’d set to slow roasting tomatoes and onions in the oven, baking a blueberry tart and using just about every burner on the stove top. There was sweat, but it was worth it. As I sat in front of the fan eating this salad I thought to myself (and out loud on twitter) how on earth can something be so incredible healthy but taste so good that it should be bad for you?

I think the magic ingredient in this dish is the roasted cherry tomatoes. Oh, God, yes.

I lifted the roasted tomato recipe directly out of the pages of Super Natural Every Day, by Heidi Swanson. I remembered the chatter on the internet when her book came out last summer and everyone was pretty much freaking out about her roasted cherry tomato recipe. Go out, buy, pick, trade for a pint of cherry tomatoes and roast them like this. It is crack.

Cheers!

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes with Chickpea and Farro Salad

Let your intuition guide you with these recipes, as I did mine.
Some of the measurements are estimates.
~
The key with the farro is to pour the just cooked farro into
a sieve and place over a pot in your sink. Let it drain for several minutes
until perfectly dry before tossing with the other ingredients.

Ingredients:

For the tomatoes:

One pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 olive oil
1 tablespoon raw cane sugar
Sea salt

For the onions:

One large Walla Walla, or other onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
Sea Salt

For the salad:

Warm ingredients:

One teaspoon whole cumin
One cup farro, cooked and drained
One cup chickpeas, cooked
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup raw walnuts, broken
Paprika
Red Pepper Flakes
Lemon Zest
Salt and Pepper

Cool ingredients:

Half of a cucumber, julienned
2-3 carrots, julienned
Half a bunch of cilantro, stems removed and leaves torn
Juice from one lemon
Ricotta Salata, optional
Smoked Sea Salt

To roast the tomatoes and onions:

Place your oven racks on the top and second positions in your oven.
Warm your oven to 350.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Toss tomatoes with olive oil, sugar and salt until well covered and place cut side up on one of the baking sheets.
Toss the onions with the olive oil and salt. Lay in an even layer on the second baking sheet.
Place tomatoes on the top rack and onions on the second.
Roast for about 45 minutes until the tomatoes start to crinkle and caramelize on the edges and until the onions start to char.
Remove from the oven and let cool.

Warm olive oil and cumin seeds in a large skillet.
Add the chickpeas and stir around a bit to coat with the oil.
Let the chickpeas cook for a few minutes and then stir in the pumpkin seeds and walnuts.
Season with paprika and red pepper flakes to taste.
Zest a lemon into the chickpeas and stir.
Season with salt and pepper.
Let cook for about 8 minutes, tossing occasionally, until the chickpeas start to crisp.
Remove from heat and let cool.

Once the tomatoes, onions, farro and chickpeas cool to room temperature, toss everything together with the carrots, cucumber, a squeeze of lemon, ricotta salata and dust with the smoked sea salt.

Blueberry Tart

Ingredients:

About two pints blueberries, rinsed
Zest and juice from one lemon
1/4 cup sugar, more or less depending on the sweetness of your berries
Butter, cubed
Ground ginger, optional
Tart dough from this recipe

Place blueberries in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat.
Add lemons juice and zest and dot with chunks of butter.
Dust with ginger and stir to coat berries.
Reduce heat to medium-low and let cook at a very gentle simmer for about 10 minutes.
Roll out tart dough and place on top of berries tucking in the edges and cutting off any loose bits.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes rotating halfway through until your crust is golden.
Let cool a bit before serving. Makes an excellent breakfast, too.