Bowl Crazy: Farro, Cucumber, Radish, Fried Egg, Yogurt Sauce

Bowl Crazy
Farro, Cucumber, Radish, Fried Egg, Yogurt Sauce

The food world has gone crazy for healthy grain bowls. And with good reason. They are fabulously nutritious, easy to compose, colorful and tasty, and can be economical often turning leftovers into another great meal.

Composing a grain bowl is fun. It is a creative construction of whole grains; vegetables (fresh, cooked, pickled); a protein (meat, fish, tofu, egg, beans); a flavorful sauce; and a jaunty garnish (nuts, seeds, herbs, cheese).

I liked the idea of smashed cucumbers and radishes in this recipe from Bon Appétit. In the end it was the wild spectrum of flavors and textures that made this particular bowl a winner – chewy earthy farro, crunchy peppery radish, refreshing cucumber, crispy fried egg, tangy creamy yogurt, and bright fresh herbs.

Farro Bowl Recipe

Yogurt Sauce:

• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 t. lemon juice
• 1/2 c. greek yogurt
• 2 T. olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Marinate garlic in lemon juice for 5 minutes. Then whisk in the remaining ingredients.

Farro Bowl:

• farro, cooked, at room temperature
• persian cucumbers, trimmed and sliced into chunks
• red radishes, trimmed
• fresh tarragon, chopped
• fresh mint, chopped
• eggs
• olive oil for frying eggs

Put radishes in a roomy ziplock bag, smash with a mallet, then dump into a mixing bowl. Repeat with cucumbers.

Dress the cucumber radish mixture with some of the yogurt sauce. Fold in tarragon and mint. Season with more salt and pepper to taste.

Dress farro with remaining yogurt sauce.

Fry eggs in olive oil until crispy.

Spoon farro into bowls. Place cucumber radish mixture on top to one side, place the egg on the other. Garnish with mint and tarragon sprigs.

Go crazy for grain bowls!