farro salad with zucchini, olives and roasted tomatoes

This farro salad is a fresh, summery, substantial meal that’s packed full of vegetables. It’s a salad of textures: crunchy zucchini, chewy farro, buttery pine nuts and cubes of mozzarella.

Farro is my all time favorite grain. That’s a bold statement considering how many grain options are available to us these days, but I use farro all the time-- in soups, as a stand in for rice (because honestly, I still burn the crap out of it), and especially in salads. I love its versatility, chewy texture, and forgiving nature (does anyone else struggle with rice?!).

The salad I’m sharing today is a fresh, summery, substantial salad that’s packed full of vegetables. It’s delicious when just thrown together, it travels super well for picnics and lunches on the go, and it continues to get better in the refrigerator as the flavors meld.

It’s easy, low key and fresh-- everything that a summer meal should be. I love the play of the briny olives and super intense roasted tomatoes off of the fresh mozzarella and basil. And I’m not always the biggest fan of zucchini, especially when cooked and verging on slimy, but these tiny raw cubes stay crunchy and absorb the flavors of the salad. It’s a win all around.

so how do you cook farro, anyways?

My favorite way to cook farro is the same way you would pasta-- in a large pot of boiling salted water. When the grains are tender but still chewy, drain off the water and toss them in a little bit of olive oil until ready to use.

If you’re looking for extra flavor, cook it in chicken stock with a few bay leaves tossed in for good measure.

Keep in mind that there are several types of farro on the market these days: at least 3 different varieties, each of which could be pearled, semi pearled or unpearled. That means there’s a wide range of cooking times, so it’s best to follow the package instructions on exactly how long your specific farro will need to cook.

notes on this farro salad:

• go easy on the salt to begin with-- the olives and slow roasted tomatoes can bring a lot of salt to the salad
• if you haven’t made the slow roasted tomatoes, feel free to sub in store bought oil-packed sun dried tomatoes
• this is a great way to use leftover farro!

more grain salads and pasta salads to try:

kale quinoa salad with oranges

butternut squash farro salad

orzo pasta salad with grilled corn, zucchini and lime

southwest quinoa salad

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