Warm Salad with Farro/Barley, Radicchio, Frisee, Wild Mushrooms and Poached Eggs

This a more recent and more "mature" variation of this recipe. It's so balanced in flavor and textures so you would not need anything else to serve it with. Though if you never feel satiated unless you had some meat or fish in your stomach, a few seared scallops or sautéed sweetbreads would be the best choice.

You will need:

• 1 ½ cup cooked whole barley or farro*
• ½ small radicchio head, sliced (can use Belgian endive in addition or instead of)
• ½ frisee head, torn into separate leaves
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• A handful or wild mushrooms like trumpets, chanterelles, porcini, morels or whatever is currently in season (can be replaced with shiitake or oyster mushrooms), thoroughly cleaned and sliced
• A generous splash of good quality sherry vinegar
• 1 Tbsp canola oil
• About 1 Tbsp butter (or take olive oil instead)
• Poached eggs (optional, but highly desirable. May be replaced with a peeled soft-boiled egg.)

* Trader Joe's carries fast cooking farro and barley. Make sure to check it out if you don't have time to cook regular barley and farro. Though, if you decide to cook regular ones, make sure to cook a large batch and then freeze the leftovers in quart size Ziplocs for later use.

For regular farro or barley, you may soak them in cold water overnight to speed up the cooking, though it's not necessary. Rinse the grains well, put in plenty of cold water and bring to a boil.  Season the water with salt, reduce the heat and cook until al dente, about 40 (it may take a bit longer for whole grains).

Into a spacious sautéing pan add oils (and butter, if using) and start heating on a medium high heat. When the oil gets hot, add mushrooms and sauté, stirring often, until cooked through. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper. This step can be done in advance. In fact, in the fall during the mushrooms harvest, I sauté mushrooms and freeze them in Ziplocs so we can enjoy them year round.

To the mushrooms, add garlic and sauté another several seconds. Add a generous splash of sherry vinegar and let it boil down slightly. Add all the greens and sauté, stirring, until they get slightly wilted. Stir in warm farro or barley.  Season with more salt and black pepper and remove from the heat.

Divide the greens between the plates and top each with a soft poached egg. When you break the yolk, it will ooze onto the greens adding richness and creaminess to the sauce.