Not many people cook with Farro the way they do with rice, but it’s such a great grain! Especially for vegetarians and vegans as a great source of protein and fiber. This Israeli inspired salad is a great side dish for dinner, or hearty lunch to keep you going.
Needs
Dressing:
1⁄4 cup apple cider vinegar
half of an orange (will use juice and rind)
pinch of saffron threads
1⁄2 tsp salt
1 stem of rosemary
1⁄4 cup olive oil
1 shallot
1 garlic clove
¼ cup coconut yogurt
Grain:
1 cup farro (rinse well)
2 cups water
1 dried arbol chile (if not arbol, you can use any dried chile)
Salad:
2 radishes
2 leaves of kale (I used curly kale)
1/2 english cucumber
cherry tomatoes
¼ cup kalamata olives
¼ cup castelvetrano olives
Toppings:
chopped parsley (optional)
Getting Started
Best way to start is with the farro. Take two cups of water and place on the stove with a pinch of salt and the dried chile. Once the water has started to boil, place in your farro and turn the heat to a medium fire. Make sure to move your heat to medium so that the grain doesn’t become mushy or pop open. You want it to have a rice like texture once fully cooked.
Stirring occasionally, after 10 minutes, taste test a grain to gauge its texture. If it needs a little more time, leave on for about another 5 minutes. Once it has that rice like texture, drain and set aside to cool.
Now onto the dressing!
Combine your apple cider vinegar, orange, and saffron threads. Feel free to add a little orange zest as well and set these mixed ingredients aside. This will allow the saffron to “breath” and open up its flavor.
While your waiting, start mincing your rosemary, shallot and garlic.
Once the saffron mixture has had about 10 minutes to sit, toss in minced rosemary, shallot and garlic. Next, add in olive oil, half of the salt, and whisk with a fork.
Your vinaigrette is ready to go! Don’t be afraid to taste test ;). You can add more orange juice, orange zest, or salt if desired. I ended up mincing the chile pepper from the farro and putting it in the vinaigrette to add some spice!
Salad goodies are next.
Try cutting your radishes super thin and place into the vinaigrette right away so they can soak in all the flavors. If you’re like me, you’re not the biggest fan of radishes. However, they have tones of health benefits, so I try to incorporate them in ways that makes me forget how I really feel.
By placing them in the dressing to soak up the flavors, you can elevate a lot of the radishes natural bitter taste.
Once the radishes are cut and placed in the dressing, start cutting your cucumber. I like to cut the cucumber in half (long ways), then face flat end down to cutting board and cut long ways again. Lastly, cutting cross to end up with triangle cuts. Place cut cucumber into the dressing.
Next is mincing the kale. It’s a great idea to mince your kale so that it doesn’t become the main focus of the salad. It’s also a lot easier on your digestive system.
Lastly, take your dressing, kale, farro (completely cooled), and mix all together. Enjoy immediately or refrigerate and eat later. Great for dinner and lunch!
If you love the way this dish turns out for you, post a story and tag @carrotlifeandlove. Excited to see your recreations!
Love and Carrots,
-B
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