Grilled Corn Crab Salad

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Some of my best recipes at times come from necessity, availability, or both. This particular one came from both. Shopping was long overdue and the weekly produce delivery we would get from a co-op had ended. I looked to the refrigerator and had 3/4 of a red bell pepper, some ears of corn, and a can of shelled crab meat, along with some fresh spices. What came out next was an instant family hit! I always know when the family truly likes something when they say “you wrote what you did down, right?'“

This comes from a time where I have created a leek and shrimp dish on the fly and my mother absolutely loved it! Unfortunately, I didn’t write anything down and have never been able to recreate the dish in the same way. I have gotten close, but something is always missing., much to mom’s dismay. Since then I keep my phone in the kitchen with me and jot things down in my notes app just in case!

In addition to my refrigerator finds, I had just received a package of farro. Farro is an ancient wheat grain that originated in Mesopotamia. Farro actually isn’t one grain, it is the name used for Einkorn, Emmer, and Spelt grain. It was a grain that I had no experience with and quite frankly, I wasn’t sure if I was allergic to it! I quickly looked up directions on how to cook the grain and hoped that it would be safe. Well, it turned out that it was not only tolerable, but it got approval from the rest of the family. It is a great alternative to eating white rice (the only rice I can eat) and its nutrition profile is significantly better. It was after eating this that brought me to try other ancient grains which completely opened up my diet a bit more.

Farro has a lovely nutty flavor and a chewy texture, giving you a healthy dose of Vitamin B3, Zinc, and magnesium. It also brags to have a wide range of antioxidants, having higher protein and fiber than other grains, and a low glycemic index. Well, to me, that really does reach “superfood” status. As far as this dish is concerned, it paired beautifully with the crab making the meal hearty while not being too heavy. Have you had Farro? Let me know in the comments how you liked it and how you using it in your diet!

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Servings

4

Author

Corinne Minshall

Prep time

15 Min

Cook time

30 Min

Total time

45 Min

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Grilled Corn & Crab Salad with Farro

This refreshing but comforting salad can be served warm or cold throughout most of the year. Try multiplying the recipe to serve to a crowd or using spoonfuls and placing it on a crostini for an easy appetizer.

Ingredients

• 2 ears of sweet corn
• 1 Cup Farro
• 700 ml vegetable stock*
• 50 grams red bell pepper diced small
• 2 Limes
• 2 Spring Onions, both white and green chopped into 3mm rounds
• 227 grams Jumbo Lump Crab Meat
• 35 grams flat-leaf parsley chopped and divided into 15/15/5
• 110 grams of Greek Yoghurt
• 2 tsp grated fresh ginger
• Smoked salt
• White pepper

Method

1. Trim off the visible silks of the corn and take off any broken or dried out leaves then soak unshucked corn for 15 minutes in cool water.
2. While the corn is soaking, prepare herbs and vegetables.  Zest each lime, keeping the zest separate from each other and set aside. Then juice 1 ½ of the limes and set the other, un-juiced half, aside for later.
3. Create the Yoghurt sauce by combining the yogurt, lime juice,  zest of 1 lime, ginger, 15 grams of parsley, and half of the chopped spring onions. Season with salt and white pepper to taste. Set in the fridge to rest.
4. Remove corn from the water and shake out excess and place on a hot grill. Grill for 25 minutes, turning every 6 minutes to get even heat on all sides.
5. Bring the vegetable stock to a boil and add the farro and a. And let it come back to a boil and then immediately turn it down to a low simmer. Simmer for 20-35 minutes depending on the type of farro. Pearled farro should take between 20-25 minutes. It should be chewy and not mushy.
6. Remove the corn from the grill. While it is cooling, heat up a sauté pan and put in a splash of oil, and sauté the red pepper for 3 minutes on medium heat. Then add in the other half of the chopped spring onions.
7. Shuck the corn and cut off the kernels and put right into the pan with the pepper and onions. 
8. Add the zest of the other lime, 15 grams of parsley, and salt and pepper to taste.
9. Finally, fold in the lump crab meat, gently heating it. Squeeze the reserved half of the lime and toss to combine. 
10. Turn off heat and cover to retain the heat while you finish the farro.
11. Drain the farro if needed. Add the last 5 grams of parsley and fluff with a fork.
12. Plate the farro and add the crab mixture to the side or on top for presentation and drizzle the lime yogurt sauce over the crab salad.

Notes:

If converting measurements, always round to a reasonable number. For example; 700mls of Vegetable stock, use 3 cups (24ounces).

Need to convert the measurements? Use this easy online calculator.

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