Make-Fast Mondays: Farro Salad with Shrimp and Corn

My local supermarket’s selling 5 ears of fresh corn for a dollar right now. What better time to take advantage of this seasonal favorite with a quick salad packed with chewy farro, succulent shrimp and sweet, summery corn?

Farro Salad with Shrimp and Corn 
Serves 6 

1 cup farro
6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 tablespoons fresh lime juice, divided
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 ½ pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
Kernels from 2 ears of sweet corn
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1 cup diced red onion
½ cup fresh chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper

Bring a large pot of water and farro to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the farro is tender, about 30 minutes. While farro is simmering, make the dressing by blending 5 tablespoons olive oil, 3 tablespoons lime juice, red wine vinegar, garlic and jalapeno in a blender until smooth. Set aside. Heat remaining tablespoon olive oil in a frying pan. Add shrimp and cook until pink. Remove from heat and drizzle with remaining tablespoon lime juice. Drain the farro and transfer to a large bowl. Stir in the shrimp, corn, pepper, onions, onion, cilantro and dressing. Toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

Adapted from Greens + Grains: Recipes for Deliciously Healthy Meals.

Make-Fast Mondays: Creamy Cilantro and White Bean Soup

Want a thick, creamy soup without adding any dairy? My favorite trick in the past has been to purée some, if not all of my ingredients, with our trusty Vitamix after everything’s had a chance to simmer. However, scooping steamy soup into a pitcher can be a bit hot and messy, so with this recipe I opted to purée before cooking. Less mess, and tossing the whole onion into the blender meant less time chopping. Piece of cake.

Creamy Cilantro and White Bean Soup 
4 15-ounce cans white beans, drained
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 large white onion
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic 
1 teaspoon cumin
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Equipment: Blender 

Put two cans of beans, broth, onion and cilantro in blender pitcher, add lid, and blend ingredients until smooth. Heat olive oil in soup pot over medium flame. Add garlic and cook for a minute or two, until aromatic. Pour contents of pitcher and remaining beans into pot. Stir in cumin. Increase heat and bring soup to boil. Reduce heat, cover pot with lid and let soup simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper, as needed. Remove soup from heat and stir in the lime juice. Divide soup among four bowls and serve.

May 3 Salad: My first mango

 

Can you believe it took me 30 years before I purchased my very first fresh mango? Sure, I’ve eaten and enjoyed mangoes before, but someone else always did the work. Pretty ridiculous, eh?

Well, thankfully the weekly grocery ads inspired me to put a mango in my shopping basket, because this fruit was a key component of a pretty fantastic salad. This dinner-sized salad features a couple butter lettuce leaves (washed and patted dry), half of a diced mango, half an avocado (sliced), a dozen large cooked shrimp (give ‘em a quick squirt of fresh lime juice) and some cilantro vinaigrette from my May 1 salad. The end result was sweet, snappy, rich and refreshing all at once.