This farro salad looks like a whole lot of nothing, but its appearance is very deceiving.
Generally, I am not put off by the length of time a meal will take to put together. It is not unheard of to find me spending most of a Sunday toiling away in the kitchen, making curry paste with a mortar and pestle (I don’t like to cut corners, okay?) or running all over this fair city trying to source some obscure vegetable that can only be found in a Chinatown back alley. I do this because, to me, this is exciting stuff, creating (hopefully) authentic food, and it’s also a little bit therapeutic. Some people do hot yoga, I dice a pile of bamboo shoots.
Unfortunately, I have a job that requires me to sit in a cubicle all day and sometimes all night, so these projects are for weekends only. But on the nights when I do get home in time for dinner, I would always prefer to eat something I made myself than something ordered. And that is where grain salads have come into my life in the most delicious, healthy and convenient way.
I confess, this is the first time I’ve eaten farro. You are probably way ahead of me on the farro train, but in case you are not up on your trendy grains, farro is an ancient strain of wheat that is found most often in Italian cooking. It looks a bit like pearl barley, but has a little more of a meaty bite. It cooks in twenty minutes and is substantial enough to hold its own in a salad.
In the twenty minutes it takes the farro to boil, you can easily get your other ingredients (walnuts, green olives, scallions and chives) chopped and your lemon squeezed. This recipe calls for the toasting of walnuts in the oven for seven minutes, but I did mine on the stovetop in about three, since the idea of removing the fifteen or so pans that live inside my off-duty oven to toast some nuts was a nonstarter for me.
This is one of my favorite grain salads to date. It’s spicy, sweet and savory all at the same time and has so many different textures in each bite. If you’re so inclined, I’d suggest eating it on a bed of your favorite lettuce or greens if you’re looking to incorporate a few more vegetables. Either way, it’s going to be delicious, and you won’t be exhausted from making it.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups farro (1/2 pound)
- Fine sea salt
- 1 cup walnuts (3 1/2 ounces)
- 2 1/2 cups pitted green olives, preferably Castelvetrano, chopped (11 ounces)
- 4 scallions, white and light green parts only, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup snipped chives
- 2 tablespoons golden raisins
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- Shaved Pecorino cheese, for serving
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, combine the farro with 4 cups of water and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil and simmer, partially covered, until the farro is tender, about 20 minutes. Drain the farro and spread it on a baking sheet to cool.
- Meanwhile, toast the walnuts in a shallow pan for 3-4 minutes until golden and fragrant. Let cool, then coarsely chop.
- In a large bowl, combine the farro, walnuts, olives, scallions, chives, raisins, crushed red pepper, olive oil, lemon juice and honey and season with salt. Toss well. Transfer the salad to a platter, garnish with the cheese and serve.
- This salad can be refrigerated overnight. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Notes
https://www.thekitchenchronicles.com/2014/01/15/farro-green-olive-salad-with-walnuts-raisins/
