Gialina's Kale & Farro Salad with Avocado

Ingredients

• 1  avocado cut into large dice
• 2  carrots peeled scrubbed sliced into thin rounds
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard 
• 0.7 cup farro 
• 1 stalk garlic clove light white green chopped
• 10 ounces kale 
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt 
• 6 servings salt and pepper freshly ground
• 1.5 cups olive oil extra virgin extra-virgin
• 1 Leaves parsley italian
• 0.3 teaspoon pepper freshly ground
• 1 Leaves tarragon 
• 0.5 cup vinegar (see Note)

Equipment

• food processor
• bowl
• knife
• pot
• blender
• immersion blender

Directions

1. To make the dressing, place all of the dressing ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth, or use an immersion blender to blend all the ingredients in a bowl.
2. To make the salad, bring a small pot of salted water to a boil.
3. Add the farro and cook until tender, 16 to 18 minutes.
4. Drain, rinse with cold water until cool, then drain well.
5. Remove the stems from the kale.
6. Cut away any tough ends, then finely slice the stems and tear the kale leaves into small bite-size pieces.
7. Place both the stems and leaves in a large salad bowl.
8. Add the avocados, carrots, and farro.
9. Add half of the dressing and toss to combine.
10. Add more dressing if desired. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.
11. Prep Tip
12. To remove stems from chard or kale, start by trimming the stem ends. Then hold a leaf by the stem in one hand and use the other hand to tear the leaves from the stem into bite-size pieces. To make cleaner-looking stems, use a knife to cut the leaves from the stem on both sides in a pointy triangle.
13. Reprinted with permission from Root to Stalk Cooking by Tara Duggan, © 2013 Ten Speed PressTARA DUGGAN is a staff writer for The San Francisco Chronicle's Food & Wine section and the author of three previous cookbooks, including The Blue Bottle Craft of Coffee and The Working Cook. A graduate of the California Culinary Academy, she is the recipient of a James Beard Foundation Journalism Award. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Denver Post, The Chicago Tribune, and The Toronto Star. Tara, her husband, and their two daughters live in San Francisco and enjoy spending time on her family's off-the-grid farm in Northern California, where she gets her ideas for what to do with all kinds of kitchen scraps.