Farro Salad
Farro and rice salads are very popular summer salads in the middle and northern regions of Italy. There are many versions combining vegetables and meats. I have found this one to be true to vegetarian’s preferences and also loved by meat eaters. It can be adapted to other vegetables as needed.
Servings 6 portions
Ingredients
- 1 cup farro grains –uncooked 4 oz)
- uncooked (similar to
- couscous – about 4 oz)
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 1 cup diced red onions
- 1 zucchini diced
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 cup frozen spinach
- ½ cup sun dried
- tomatoes chopped
- 3 tablespoons Virgin
- Olive oil
- 1 garlic clove
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- salt & pepper
Instructions
- Wash and cook the farro in boiling salted water for 15 mins. Drain in colander and let rest. I prefer to use 1 small bouillon cube (1 serving) instead of the salt for added flavor. You can use quick cook farro, which takes 10 mins.
- Heat two tablespoons of oil in a pan at low heat and sauté the garlic clove unpeeled, but squashed (“in the jacket”). Remove garlic clove when browned.
- Put the carrots in the oil to soften for 4 minutes, mixing often
- Add the onions and continue sautéing for another 4 minutes, mixing often.
- Add the diced zucchini, spinach and frozen peas in the same fashion, waiting 4 minutes between each ingredient
- Finally add the sun dried tomatoes and thyme and cook for one more minute, mixing well.
- Remove pan from the heat and pour the farro in, mixing well. Adjust the seasoning, adding salt, pepper and olive oil to taste.
- Let it rest in refrigerator for at least one hour for flavors to blend in. Serve with the parsley or basil as decoration if desired.
Notes
- Farro is similar to rice in his consistency and looks. In fact, rice is used instead of farro for the same type of salad in many ocasions and cities. If you want to use rice, make sure is cooked according to the type of rice you select
- cut size is very important in this salad. Make sure that all the vegetables are cooked about the same size for best consistency and flavor.
- Cooking times are very important to get the same level of "doneness" for the ingredients used. We used a 4 minute interval, in a specific order, to allow each ingredient to cook the right amount of time.