Farro and Blistered Green Bean Salad with Smoky Prawns

I love the chewy texture and nutty flavour of farro and it’s perfect with lightly spiced prawns, lots of green beans and crunchy fresh fennel.

1 cup farro, rinsed and drained (see Cook’s note)

½ cup olive oil

500 grams frozen broad beans, blanched, skinned

250 grams slim green beans, stalk end trimmed

sea salt and ground pepper

1 teaspoon caster sugar

1 thin-skinned lemon, sliced into ½cm-thick rounds

2 cloves garlic, crushed

450 grams raw peeled prawns, tail on

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced, fronds reserved

DRESSING

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons whole grain mustard

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Cook the farro in a large saucepan of salted boiling water for 20 minutes, or until tender but still with a slightly chewy texture. Drain well, rinse under cold water and drain again.

Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a large sauté pan and when hot, add the beans in batches. Cook for 1 minute each side, or until lightly blistered in places and bright green. Transfer to kitchen towels and sprinkle with salt.

Wipe out the pan and add a little more oil. Sprinkle a pinch of sugar on both sides of the lemon slices then cook over a medium-high heat until lightly charred.

Wipe out the pan again, add a little more oil and add the garlic, prawns, fennel seeds and smoked paprika. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the prawns are pink and just cooked through.

DRESSING:

Whisk all the ingredients in a bowl and season.

TO ASSEMBLE:

Toss the farro with the dressing, broad beans and the fennel. Transfer to a platter and top with the green beans, lemon slices and the prawns. Spoon over the pan juices from cooking the prawns and top with reserved fennel fronds.

SERVES 4

COOK’S NOTE:

If farro is unavailable, it can be substituted with pearl barley.