Shrimp with Farro and White Beans
Servings: 6 people
Ingredients
Farro and White Bean Salad
- 1 cup farro or Israeli couscous
- 1 cup white beans cooked cannellini, navy, or great Northern
- 1 small Persian or English cucumber chopped fine
- 2 stalks celery chopped fine
- 1 small shallot chopped fine
- lots of fresh herbs, like dill, parsley, cilantro and basil chopped fine (at least ⅓-1/2 cup total)
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes halved if desired
- 2 cups (about 1 bunch) arugula
Lemon-y Dressing
- ¼-1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 medium lemons juiced
- 1 clove garlic minced with a pinch of salt
- Kosher salt
Shrimp
- 1 pound raw shrimp peeled and deveined
- drizzle olive oil
- Kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- optionally: 3 tablespoons dill butter 3 tablespoons softened butter with dill and garlic stirred in
Instructions
- If cooking farro, bring a large pot of salted water, vegetable stock, or chicken stock to a boil. Feel free to add additional aromatics to the pot to flavor the liquid. Meanwhile, toast the farro in a skillet over medium heat or in a 300 F oven until fragrant and nutty, about 10 minutes. Add the toasted farro to the boiling liquid and cook until al dente, about another 10 minutes (but taste to check), then drain the liquid. Toss the grain with a little olive oil to prevent sticking and set aside to cool slightly.
- If cooking Israeli couscous, toast in a skillet over medium heat until fragrant and nutty, about 3-5 minutes. Pour in 1-½ cups of water and stock, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 8-10 minutes, until spheres are tender and water is absorbed. Don't overcook or the couscous will be gummy. Toss the Israeli couscous with a little olive oil to prevent sticking and set aside to cool slightly.
- While the grain cooks and cools, you can prep your vegetables and herbs (basically, chop them all finely). Juice the lemons. Peel and devein your shrimp.
- Toss the cooked farro or Israeli couscous with the white beans in a large bowl. This will cool the grain down somewhat. Drizzle in the olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, and herbs. Season with Kosher salt to taste (about ½-1 teaspoon), then add the cucumber, celery, shallot, cherry tomatoes, and arugula.
- Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Toss with a drizzle of olive oil, then grill or saute over medium-high heat until the shrimp is just barely done (the residual heat will continue to cook the shrimp). [If you want to be really indulgent, toss with the dill butter. I didn't think it needed this.]
- Serve the shrimp on the side of the salad (like I did) or toss the shrimp in with the farro/couscous salad and serve immediately.