Heather’s Farro Recipe
A farro recipe I did for my sister's baby shower. Farro, a citrus dressing, roasted spring onions, yellow split peas, fresh peas, a bit of mixed salad greens, and a touch of goat cheese and chives.
A number of you emailed me about the farro platter pictured in the baby shower post from last Sunday (apparently a least some of you aren't tired of grains and peas yet ;). While there are a few different components at play here, the great thing about it was being able to prep it two days in advance. This left me free to do other things the day of the celebration - like sleep in. What's in it? I used farro as the base along with my favorite citrus dressing, roasted spring onions, yellow split peas, fresh peas, a bit of mixed salad greens, and a touch of goat cheese. I see some chives snuck into the photo as well.
For those of you looking for a quick, on-the-fly meal, this isn't it. That is unless you have the components prepped (i.e. the dressing, the farro cooked, etc). If this is the case, you're golden, and you can throw everything together in a flash.
One other important thing to remember - you can remix a salad like this a thousand different ways to suit your tastes or season. A month or so from now I might trade the salad greens for basil leaves and use tiny, roasted, yellow tomatoes in place of the spring onions. that being said, the dark roasted, caramelized spring onions I used this time around added a depth to this salad that was hard to beat. Can't find farro? No worries. You can certainly use wheat berries or pearl barley as the base, millet might be a tasty choice as well.
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Heather's Farro Recipe
As I mentioned up above you can make many of the components here in advance. I keep them separate until I'm ready to serve.
6 cups cooked farro*
2 cups cooked yellow split peas**
1 1/2 cups peas, fresh if possible boiled for 30 seconds in salted water and draineda big splash of Citrus Parmesan Vinaigrette***
4 handfuls of mixed salad greens10 spring onions, trimmed, cut in half length-wise, tossed in a bit of olive, sprinkled with a bit of salt and roasted on a baking sheet in a 350F degree oven for about 35 minutes or until browned (toss once midway)
1/4 cup goat cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup chopped chives
In a large bowl toss the farro, yellow split peas, and peas with the Citrus Parmesan Dressing. Toss until well coated. Add the spring onions and salad greens and give the salad another (more gentle) toss, so as not to bruise the greens. Taste and add more salt if needed. Serve in the big bowl or on a large platter topped with the spring onions, goat cheese, and chives.
Makes one generous, family-style platter.
*To cook farro: Combine farro, salt, and water in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat (I cover the farro with water by a couple inches and salt generously). Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the farro is tender, 45 minutes to an hour, or about half the time if you are using semi-pearled farro. Taste often as it is cooking, you want it to be toothsome and retain structure. Remove from heat, drain any excess water, and set aside until ready to use.
**To cook dried yellow spilt peas: Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a large saucepan, add 3/4 cup dried yellow split peas, and cook for 20 -30 minutes, or until tender. Drain, salt to taste and set aside.
***Citrus Parmesan Vinaigrette: whisk together the zest and juice of 1 orange, 1 chopped shallot, 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar, and 1/2 cup good quality olive oil. Salt to taste.
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Comments
What a fabulous recipe, thanks. I have never had farro and must give it a try as I love grains, and everything else included in the recipe.
i *love love love* farro, it might be my favorite grain. i’m always on the lookout for good farro recipes, especially one that i can eat a room temp now that the weather’s warming up.
This salad looks really good! I recently used farro for the first time and II made a salad as well.
This looks great for a lazy Sunday. Yum. I’ve been trying out a few of your recipes lately and posted on my blog about how they came out. (Beautifully!). Thanks for such an inspiring blog.
this looks so good. you’ve inspired me to make so many delicious salads like the spring tabbouleh and the peanut noodles for dinner and then bringing them to work for the next few days. maybe i’ll go to the italian section of the city to find farro. they only had one option at whole foods and it was pretty pricey.
Farro? Wheatberries? Pearled Spelt grains?
Oh dear, I think we are in the Dark Ages over here in the UK. We only just seem to have gor Quinoa in our Health Food Stores.
Lovely looking recipes, it is a shame the ingredients are not so readily available.
This is the best site, and I love looking at it anyway.
Oh that looks very healthy and good.Goat cheese!Yum.
This looks fantastic and so healthy too. You have a lovely blog.
What an incredibly versatile recipe. I can;t wait to try the vinaigrette!
Yum. I’m one of those people who thinks about lunch at breakfast time (and breakfast at dinnertime). Unfortunately, by the time I break for lunch I’m completely famished and often opt for whatever’s within easy reach. You’ve inspired me to cook up some farro, store it in the fridge, and keep it on hand for a quick, healthy salad.
Happy weekend.
HS: You too Cheryl! And re: the farro – that’s totally what I do. And if I’m not consuming it fast enough I freeze it in freezer baggies to throw in soups, stir fries, etc.
this recipe looks fabulous, but is farro gluten-free? would quinoa work as a substitute if farro is not GF?
HS; Marigold, I might do millet instead of quinoa. I tend to prefer greener flavors with the quinoa (vs. citrusy) – I mean, it would probably taste just fine, but given the choice I’d go for millet.
WOW! I’m making this now for lunch today! I’m using spelt, wild rice and barley from the healthfood store. While that cooked, I sauteed the trinity (garlic, onions, carrots) seasoned with only pepper and a little garlic salt. When that was done, I let it cool and threw in a can of white beans, fresh chives, fresh parsley and instead of salt, used a dash of vegetable broth powder! Excellent! You always get my creative juices working over here in NJ! Thank you again!
I’ve never cooked with farro before! … but now I am inspired too.
Hey, Heidi, the Spring Ragout was a HUGE hit in my house, even with the 9-year-old-who-doesn’t-eat-anything-green-except-pesto. So never you mind those comments about asparagus and peas – I for one think it’s a fabulous combination, esp when both are as fresh and sweet as they are now. They may be plentiful now, but it’s still a short season.
(here in Arlington, Va, though, my favorite farmers’ market vendor was down on me asking for fava beans. “Aren’t those from California,” he asked … as in, NOT LOCAL?! Ooops. A locavorish faux pas on my part. Found them in Harris Teeter, though :-).
I am loving every single farro salad you come up with, so keep em coming!
HS: Pam, that is great to hear. One of the things I love about doing this site is hearing about how some of my recipes take on a life of their own in your kitchens. Thanks for the nice note – and glad to hear you eventually found the favas.
Heidi, have you been to Ubuntu yet? I was there a couple of weeks ago and one of the dishes we had was farro based. Although the execution was quite different, it sounds like the basic flavor components were similar to yours. Theirs was farro in a thick sauce of blended peas and carrot tops (!), with roasted carrots and broccoli, and roasted marinated ramps. It was so simple, but it was transcendently delicious. Of all the wonderful dishes we ate that night, the farro was the one that really made me understand why people are going so mad for Ubuntu.
What a great salad to bring to a Memorial Day picnic!! Haven’t tried your citrus dressing yet—sounds totally yummy. I’m still thinking about your last farro recipe….so now I’ll head into the kitchen to make this one! Thx!
What a fabulous looking salad. I love farro and am always on the lookout for new recipes 🙂
What a fabulous looking salad. I love farro and am always on the lookout for new recipes 🙂
Thank you, thank you!!
I LOVE your citrus dressing and anything with farro. You’re the best!
Love a nice farro salad! This looks like a good one to bring to a holiday BBQ 🙂
Where do you all buy your farro? I love it, and have the hardest time finding it. I couldn’t even find it at Berkeley Bowl or Farmer Joe’s (independent natural food store in Oakland). I finally got my hands on some at Whole Foods, but it came in this really dinky package and was only enough to make one dish. Anyone in the Bay Area know where you can buy it in bulk…? Thanks!
HS: Mary, I buy my farro either at Rainbow foods or any one of a few Italian markets around town (I believe A.G. Ferrari stocks it). I buy a giant bag at Rainbow for something like $14 – it cold feed a small army.
You’re new photo is GORGEOUS! (and the farro looks yummy too)
HS: Thanks Heather 🙂
This looks fabulous, I was wondering about the farro recipe too.
Delicious – I love grain salads like these 🙂
Why not try it with pearled spelt grains? they have a wonderful nutty flavour and delicious when there’s still a bite to them.
HS: Anne-Renne, yes that sounds good too 🙂
So delicious looking – I don’t believe I’ve ever cooked farro. How does it compare to the texture of wheatberries? Just as firm?
Texture is a big factor in my household, so very curious to learn from others.
HS: Maggie – it really depends on whether you buy whole of semi-pearled farro. Broadly speaking I find farro less glossy and chewy than wheat berries. Similar in size though, and I often inter-swap one for the other depending on what I have on hand.
Hello! I see this type of post on here all the time, but I have to say it too: I love this blog and your wonderful recipes and pictures have single handedly turned me into an avid cook!
Suddenly I have started thinking about what to make for dinner as soon as I’m done breakfast, and I’ve started incorporating trips to farmers markets into my life and my cupboards are overflowing with grains and lentils!
Also, I never saw any appeal in vegetarianism, but without even noticing it I’ve almost completelty cut meat out of my diet! I’ve now ordered your book on Amazon, along with Mark Bittermans Vegetarian cook book and am looking forward to ‘going all the way’ with vegetarianism!
Thank you thank you thank you!
This looks lovely; I need a “travelling salad” for a picnic lunch next week, and this just might be it..
I find that if I keep the salad greens separate until just before serving, they don’t go soggy.
Amazing – as always. I’ve never tried farro. I’m attempting to live much more simply and adding more grains and vegetables to my diet in an attempt to broaden my toddler’s tastes as well as repair my body after recent surgery.
Farro is on my list of things to buy tomorrow after visiting my local farmer’s market.
You’re amazing!
Yum, looks good! I found some pretty purple hued barley at the store the other day. I bet it would look wonderful in a salad similar to this!
Very unique recipe. I’ll have to keep my eyes out for farro. I recently heard a gluten-free blogger using farro flour which I’d never heard of, but perhaps it’s becoming more widespread? I always stick to the grains I know and love like barley and bulgur. It took me a long time to even get into bulgur…I need to expand my horizons!
Thanks for the inspiration, I’ll look for some farro at Whole Foods this weekend.
i feel a farro dish coming on
thanks to you i bought 5 lbs of the stuff last winter and suddenly i am very much in the mood…
i am vegan until the end of june. just a little super natural living for awhile after all the umentionable dishes i’ve been cooking…
you are the best inspiration there could be. (i’ve just finished day 3 and going strong…)
Aww, thanks Claudia. Ping me if you need me to pass along any favorite vegan faves. Even better, come visit and we can cook up a veg extravaganza 🙂
Thank you for this recipe!
I have a whole bunch of farro sitting around from my trip to Italy last year, and have only used it a few times (for lack of recipes).
This looks beyond delicious.
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