Eat Healthy and Cheap
Farro Salad
Farro has fed central Italy since before durum wheat pasta existed, and its chew holds up to a day or two in the refrigerator the way soft grains cannot. Classic farro salads lean on olive oil to make the grain glisten and to bind the roasted vegetables into something coherent, but roasting the cherry tomatoes hard enough to split does the same job: the juice that runs out clings to the grain instead of pooling at the bottom of the bowl. Tossing the farro into the lemon and mashed roasted garlic while it is still warm from the pot pulls that seasoning into the grain itself, rather than leaving it sitting on the surface where a cold salad would rinse it off by the last bite.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Farro, dried, rinsed
- 2 Zucchinis, medium, cut into 1/2 inch half-moons
- 1 Bell pepper, red, cored and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 small Red onions, cut into thin wedges
- 2 cups Cherry tomatoes, halved
- 4 cloves Garlic, unpeeled
- 2 Lemons, zest of 1, both juiced (about 1/4 cup / 60 ml)
- 1/3 cup Basil, torn
- 1/4 cup Flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 1/3 cup Walnuts, toasted, roughly chopped
- 1/2 tsp Black peppercorns, freshly ground
Method
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the farro, and simmer until tender with a slight chew, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain and spread it out on a sheet pan to cool: spreading it thin instead of leaving it in the colander keeps the grains separate instead of steaming into a clump.
- While the farro cooks, heat the oven to 450 F (230 C). Toss the zucchini, bell pepper, and red onion on a parchment-lined sheet pan, spread in a single layer with space between the pieces so they roast instead of steam. Roast 20 minutes, stirring once.
- Push the vegetables to one side of the pan and add the cherry tomatoes and the whole, unpeeled garlic cloves. Roast 8 to 10 minutes more, until the tomatoes split open and slump. That burst of tomato juice becomes the salad's dressing base, doing the clinging, glossing job olive oil usually does.
- Toast the walnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat, shaking the pan often, until they smell nutty and darken slightly, about 4 minutes. Roughly chop once cool enough to handle.
- Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins into a large bowl and mash to a paste with a fork. Zest one lemon into the bowl, then juice both lemons in along with the black pepper.
- Add the still-warm farro to the bowl and toss it through the lemon and garlic first, before anything else goes in. Warm grain drinks up acid the way cold grain never will, so this is where most of the seasoning actually happens.
- Fold in the roasted vegetables and tomatoes, scraping in any juices left on the pan, then the basil, parsley, and walnuts. Toss well, taste, and add more lemon juice if it needs it. Serve warm or at room temperature; it keeps well chilled for a few days.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 310 calories, 10 g protein, 9 g fiber. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt.
