Friday, July 20, 2012

Farro Salad

Farro and Wheatberries are my favorite grains.  Well, then there's Quinoa too, but I don't think that's considered to be a grain.  Anyway, I usually make a grain salad with one of these every other week, so that I have it in the refrigerator.  This farro salad is from Heidi Krahling's book, Insalata's Mediterranean Table.

 

Cook the farro first, this can even be made a day ahead.

1/2 C Extra virgin olive oil
2 C pearled farro
1 C minced yellow onion
2 1/2C hot water
1 tsp. kosher salt
In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Reduce the heat to low; add the farro and onion.  Cook on low, stirring occasionally, until the farro grains are coated with oil, toasted, fragrant and uniformly brown, 20 minutes.  Add the water and salt; bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low; cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook until just tender, 40 minutes.  Remove from the heat; allow to sit, covered, 20 minutes.
For the farro salad:  Chop everything while the farro is cooking and you're ready to eat when the farro is done.
In a large bowl, combine the cooked farro
1/2 C walnuts, toasted and chopped
1/2 C minced green onion
1/2C sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, julienned
1/2 C picholine olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
1/2 C chopped Italian parsley
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Mix well.  Drizzle with extra olive oil if you think it needs it.  Taste and adjust the seasonings.  Serve at room temperature.  
Makes about 7 Cups

Notes: Given what I have on hand at the time, I've made this with different olives, kalamata or regular green olives, and it tastes great both ways.  I typically cook the farro and make the salad the same day.  Be forewarned, it's addicting.

1 comment:

  1. This is the most delicious salad/side dish in the whole wide world!! Lori made it while I was visiting and she is right. It is addicting. She was so kind as to pick up a bag of Farro for me as she wasn't sure I could find it in Florida. I'm going to make it this week and it will probably be part of a daily meal.
    Thanks Lori!!

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