I can make a meal of a salad like this. Farro, a wheat grain similar in texture and size to barley, gives the salad substance. The fruits and vegetables bring freshness. The dressing is light, and the shrimp add a little sweetness. The recipe calls for pearled farro, which cooks in 15 to 20 minutes. It's a timesaving alternative to whole farro, which requires a long soaking and/or cooking time.

If you can't find pearled farro, regular farro is fine, but preparation will take longer.

This salad is best the day it is made. — From Stephanie Witt Sedgwick, Special to The Washington Post

4 main-course or 8 side-dish servings

2 3/4 cups cooked farro, preferably pearled (from 1 cup dry farro)

7 ounces large shrimp (21-30 count), peeled, deveined, cooked and cut into 1/2-inch pieces; see notes)

2 oranges, sectioned, each section cut into 1/2-inch pieces, plus accumulated juice (see notes)

4 ounces English (seedless) cucumber or 1 small unwaxed cucumber, cut into 1/4-inch dice (1 cup)

Flesh of 1 small avocado, cut into 1/2-inch dice

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar, or more to taste

1 tablespoon olive oil, or more to taste

1/4 teaspoon sugar

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1. Combine the cooked farro, cooked shrimp, orange pieces and juice, cucumber, avocado, dill, vinegar, oil, sugar and salt and pepper to taste in a large bowl. Taste, and adjust the seasoning as needed. Let it sit for 20 minutes before serving.

Notes: To cook shrimp, fill a bowl with ice water. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add the peeled and deveined shrimp; cover the pot and turn off the heat. Let sit for 2 to 4 minutes, until the shrimp turn pink and start to curl. Cut one open to make sure it is cooked through. Immediately drain and transfer to the ice water. Drain when cooled.

To section an orange, use a large chef's knife to slice off both ends of the fruit. Stand the fruit on end and slice downward along the curve of the fruit, cutting away both the peel and pith while leaving as much of the flesh as possible. Use a paring knife to cut between the sections to detach each section of fruit from its surrounding membrane. Discard the membrane.