Spiced Vinaigrette

from Bon Appétit

Use this dressing on any salad or drizzle on grilled chicken.

Ingredients

• 1 t. coriander seeds
• 1 t. cumin seeds
• 1 t. fennel seeds
• 2 T. white wine vinegar
• 1 t. Dijon mustard
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Toast coriander, cumin, and fennel seeds in a dry small skillet over medium heat, tossing, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Let cool.
2. Place toasted spices in a spice blender and grind.
3. Place ground spices in a bowl with vinegar and mustard; whisk together.   Drizzle in olive oil while whisking to incorporate.   Season with salt and pepper.

Beet and Leek Farro Salad with Spiced Vinaigrette

By Debra

This recipe combines an ancient grain with beets, beet greens, leeks and herbs.

Ingredients

• 4 c. water
• 1 1/2 c. farro
• 2 t. sea salt
• 1 lb. beets, roasted, peeled and sliced (about 3 beets)
• remaining beet greens, chopped
• 2 leeks, cleaned and chopped (almost a pound; my leeks were quite small)
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 c. jumbo golden raisins
• 1/8 c. chopped parsley leaves
• Spiced Vinaigrette
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Combine the water and farro in a medium saucepan. Add salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the farro is tender, about 30 minutes. Drain well, and then transfer to a large bowl to cool.  (While farro is cooking, roast beets if you need to.)
2. Heat olive oil in a small skillet and saute leeks until limp.  Season with salt and pepper.  Set aside.
3. Add the roasted sliced beets, chopped beet greens, sauted leeks, raisins and parsley to the farro.  Toss to combine.
4. Toss with the Spiced Vinaigrette.  Serve.  (Salad is better the next day.)   Re-season if needed with salt and pepper.

Yield: 6-8

This ancient inspired recipe is much better than the “authentic” honey cakes I made for the last Feast of Sorrow post.  I don’t know if Thrasius would have served this to Apicius as a gustatio  and if Apicius would have approved; however, in our house, this salad will appear again.

I am linking up with Beth Fish Reads’ Weekend Cooking.

I am the host for this round of Cook the Books.  You can read the announcement post here.   You still have a bit of time to participate.  The deadline for Feast of Sorrow is January 31, 2018.  Anyone can join in by reading the current selection, preparing a dish inspired by its contents, and writing about it. Let me know when your entry post is up by commenting on this post and/or sending me an email at eliotseats@gmail.com.

New to Cook the Books? Membership is open to anyone that wants to participate.  Check out our About and Guidelines pages or leave a question in the comments on this post.

If you’ve run out of time to participate this month, please note that Simona (bricriole) is hosting The Discovery of Chocolate by James Runcie for February/March.

Look for her announcement post soon at Cook the Books.  If you like historical fiction, this novel promises another excellent read, set during the time of discovery and Cortés’ travels to the New World.