Tomato Cucumber Farro Salad
I’ve been staring at a bag of farro in my cabinet for a year now. Seriously, a YEAR.
Up until last week, I’d never made farro before, and to be honest, I don’t know if I’d even ever eaten it. Last year, when I attended Food Blog South, I met a representative from Roland foods. We stayed in touch after the event, and she offered to send me a box of their products to try, allowing me to choose what those products were. For some reason, farro was one of them. So after a year of doing nothing with it, last week I decided it was time to give it a shot.
And boy, oh boy, I’m glad I did!
I really wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. With a nutty taste and slightly chewy texture, it has now become my new favorite grain!
When I mentioned my new fondness for farro on Twitter, my friend Leah chimed in saying that she just discovered it last year herself when she made this absolutely delicious-looking Cheesy Baked Farro. Once it gets a little cooler out and I’m starting to crave comfort foods, that dish will surely be one of the firsts to show up in my house!
But for now, with the heat of summer and the abundance of tomatoes and cucumbers in my CSA, I’ll stick with this simple salad. And I’ll enjoy every bite.
Tomato Cucumber Farro Salad
Serves 4-6. Adapted from Cooking Light
Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked, semi-pearled farro
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup diced fresh tomato
1 cup diced cucumber
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup chopped green onions
Directions:
Add farro and 2 1/2 cups salted water to pot. Bring to boil. Cover and reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat, allow to cool completely.
In a medium bowl, combine olive oil, lemon juice, dijon mustard, salt, pepper and garlic. Whisk until combined.
Add cooled farro, tomato, cucumber, parsley, mint and green onions to lemon juice mixture. Toss to coat.
Thanks for the shout out! I’ve never had farro cooled like in this salad, and those ingredients sound so good in this hot weather. I’ll be trying it soon! Farro is so underrated, but so good!
Can’t wait to give your recipe a go!
My entire family is gaga for farro. Just cooking it with chicken bullion and adding a little butter makes them all so happy. With the lower gluten content, I find I can handle it as long as I don’t go overboard! I am so excited to have a new recipe to try!
-Liza
Oh, I didn’t know it had lower gluten content- that’s good to know! Maybe that’s part of why I liked it… I didn’t feel so heavy after eating it like I do with some grains.
Had my first farro recently in a Mediterranean stew my daughter prepared. I really liked it so your recipe sounds like a keeper. It kept in your cupboards for a year!!
Keep writing…
Yes! It didn’t have an expiration on it, and it was in a factory sealed package, so I was hoping it would be fine. Turns out it was!
I’ve been meaning to try my hand at a farro risotto, since I’ve seen several people mention it. I’ve had it in a warm salad with roasted winter vegetables and goat cheese and really liked it, so I don’t know why I still haven’t made it myself!
Vivek mentioned he likes to make risotto using farro, so I’ll be trying that too! For me, risotto is more a cool weather food, so will go on the roster for fall/winter :-)
Great use of those veggies!
I make this recipe a bunch lately…substituting farro for the wheat berries…
http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2012/05/wheat-berries-with-charred-onions-and-kale
Ooh, yum. Thanks for sharing. I’ve got kale in my fridge right now, so I’m going to make this!
This is EXACTLY the recipe I have been looking for since LAST SPRING! Why oh Why did I just find it now????? I have a bag of Farro just waiting to be cooked- for this specific recipe! Central Market made a salad like this with one of their “We will never tell you the dressing so why bother trying” salad dressings. HAHA…jokes on them ~ you outted them!!!!
Another good one is a Quinoa with the same ingrediants…mmmmm.