Summer just might be my favorite season to cook in. I don't care for the high temperatures but I do love perusing the farmers market and finding gold left and right. There is just such an abundance of great produce during this time of the year. I wanted to highlight some of the summer's goods today by making one flavorful and delicious meal. This roasted tomato and farro bowl with basil vinaigrette has a little bit of everything. From the savory farro to the roasted tomatoes and asparagus to the goat cheese croutons and balsamic pecans, I would have to say, this is summer in a bowl.

Recipe

Print Recipe

Roasted Tomato and Farro Bowl with Basil Vinaigrette

Total Time1 hour hr

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: vegetarian

Servings: 4

Author: Christine Ma

Ingredients

Farro pilaf

• 1 tablespoon oil
• ½ small onion chopped
• 1 teaspoon garlic minced
• 1 cup farro
• ¼ cup white wine
• 2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon butter
• salt and pepper

Roasted tomatoes

• 2 pints cherry tomatoes halved
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 clove garlic minced
• salt and pepper

Roasted asparagus

• 1 bunch asparagus ends trimmed
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• salt and pepper

Goat cheese croutons

• 8 ounces goat cheese log
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 egg beaten
• ½ cup panko
• 2 tablespoon oil

Balsamic pecans

• ½ cup pecans chopped
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Basil vinaigrette

• ¼ cup basil fresh
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon garlic minced
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• ⅓ cup olive oil
• salt and pepper

Remaining ingredients

• 2 cups arugula

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
• Make the farro pilaf. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until softened, about 4-5 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon minced garlic and 1 cup farro and lightly toast the grains, about 1 minute. Add ¼ cup white wine and bring to a simmer. Continue to cook until almost all of the wine has evaporated. Add 2 cups vegetable or chicken stock and bring to a boil. Cover the pot, reduce heat to low, and cook for 25-30 minutes or until the grains are soft. Keep warm.
• Meanwhile, make the roasted tomatoes. Toss the halved cherry tomatoes with 2 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 1 clove minced garlic, and salt and pepper. Spread the tomatoes on a baking sheet in one even layer. Roast the tomatoes for 15-20 minutes or until softened.
• Toss asparagus with 2 tablespoon olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for 15 minutes or until tender.
• Make the goat cheese croutons. Slice the goat cheese into ¼ inch thick slices and coat in flour, shaking off the excess. Dip the goat cheese in the beaten egg and coat in panko. Heat 2 tablespoon oil in a nonstick saute pan over high heat. Pan-fry the goat cheese croutons until browned, about 1 minute. Flip and cook until browned on the other side, about another minute. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Wipe the pan clean and add 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoon brown sugar, and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Bring to a simmer and add ½ cup pecans. Simmer for 1 minute and remove from heat. Spread the pecans on parchment paper and let cool.
• Make the basil vinaigrette. Blend ¼ cup fresh basil with ¼ cup red wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon garlic, 1 tablespoon honey, and 1 teaspoon dijon mustard. Slowly add ⅓ cup olive oil, emulsifying the mixture. Season with salt and pepper.
• Assemble the roasted tomato and farro bowls. Portion the farro into 4 bowls and top with roasted asparagus, roasted tomatoes, goat cheese, croutons, arugula, and balsamic pecans. Drizzle basil vinaigrette on top and serve.

**Helpful tips and common mistakes

You probably looked at the recipe and the long list of ingredients and decided against making this roasted tomato and farro bowl. Here's the good news: a lot of the components can be used for more than one dish. For example, the balsamic pecans and basil vinaigrette. I like to make a big batch of this and top it on my salads for the rest of the week. Make extra roasted tomatoes and serve it on toasted bread with the pecans and vinaigrette for a snack. Have some farro on the side of your dinner. It's all about being resourceful!

Let's start by making the farro. Farro is a type of grain that is heartier than rice and is packed full of protein and fiber. You can substitute the farro for any other type of grain that you have on hand. Saute onions and garlic until translucent, then add the farro and lightly toast the grains for 1 minute. Add white wine and bring it to a simmer. If you want to omit the wine, just skip this step and add the broth. Bring the stock to a boil, cover the pot, reduce the heat to low, and cook for about 30 minutes or until the grains are soft.

While the farro is cooking, roast the tomatoes and asparagus. As delicious as slow-roasted tomatoes are, I decided to do a quick roast since there are several components we have to prepare. Toss the tomatoes in a little bit of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper, and roast until slightly caramelized.

For the goat cheese croutons, make sure the cheese is cold or it will be more difficult to handle. Coat the goat cheese slices in flour, egg, then panko to create a lovely crust. Pan-fry the goat cheese croutons for about 1 minute or until lightly browned. We don't want the cheese to sit in the pan for too long or it will completely melt.

Simmer some pecans with sugar, balsamic vinegar, and oil for the balsamic pecans and blend together the ingredients for the basil vinaigrette. Now it's time to assemble!

Whew, that was a little bit of work but look at that beautiful roasted tomato and farro bowl! My mouth is just salivating looking at all the wonderful goodies. I can't think of a better way to celebrate summer produce than with this meal right here.

For more bowl inspiration check out these cauliflower larb bowls!