Choosing to make Farro Salad with Tahini Vinaigrette for the alphabet F, was the easiest for me yet in this series. I love the texture of the farro and have been waiting a long time to use it in a dish that I know I would love.
What is Farro?
Talking about Farro, I have to mention how I was first introduced to it. A few years back, I attended a Vegetarian meet at our local library back in NY and there they bought some whole grains for us to taste. That was the first time I tasted Farro and I loved it the most among the few others that I tasted that day. The texture of the farro was something that I loved the most. It is nutty and has a great earthy flavor. I just love the slightly chewy texture that it has and it works great in a salad. We as a family love to have a salad night once in a while. I usually have some bread on the side as I never feel filled up with just leafy salad. The use of a whole grain in the salad along with the rest of the vegetables was just so filling that we did not need anything else. I took the Mediterranean route when planning for this whole grain salad as I had all the ingredients I needed. I had bought some tahini sauce to make the Chickpea Shawarma Wrap and I used some of it to make the dressing for this salad.
Why make this salad?
The remaining ingredients were pretty easy to assemble. This Farro Salad with Tahini Vinaigrette also helped me use up the jar of roasted peppers that I bought a while ago. I completely forgot that I had a whole jar of unopened roasted peppers and when I realized that, I thought it would work great in this salad. The farro can be cooked ahead of time and refrigerated until we are ready to assemble the salad. You could make a large batch of farro and keep it refrigerated to use in several recipes. You could also pack your weekday lunches portioning the farro. When you are doing that make sure to include this Farro Salad with Tahini Vinaigrette in the menu. The farro salad can be refrigerated for a couple of days and tastes great when chilled.
My Other Posts in the A – Z Explore the Flavors Series
A for Akki Roti B for Baghrir with Orange Butter Sauce C for Chickpeas Shawarma D for Double Ka Meetha E for Esquites Preparation time - 15 minutesCooking time - 25 minutesDifficulty level - EasyRecipe adapted from - Gimme Some Oven
Ingredients needed
To Make the Farro Salad
Farro - 1 cup Cucumber - 1 cup (diced) Cherry tomatoes - ½ cup (halved) Roasted Red Peppers - ¼ cup (chopped) Parsley - 4 teaspoon (finely chopped) Red onion - ½ cup (finely chopped) Feta Cheese - ¼ cup Salt - ½ tsp
To make the Tahini Vinaigrette
Tahini - ¼ cup Red wine Vinegar - 1 TBSP Olive Oil - 2 TBSP Lemon Juice - 1 TBSP Garlic - 1 clove (finely minced) Salt - to taste Pepper - to taste
Procedure
To make the Farro Salad
Rinse the farro under running water, drain, and place it in a pan. Add 2 ½ cups of water and ½ teaspoon of salt and bring it to a boil.
Simmer the flame and let the farro cook for about 20 minutes or until it is cooked and the liquid has all been absorbed. If the farro appears a little under-cooked, add a little more water and let it cook further until it reaches the right texture.
Let the Farro cool down to room temperature before we assemble the salad.
In the meantime, chop all the vegetables and have them all ready
To make the Tahini Vinaigrette
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl or a jar and mix them all together until they are well combined.
The vinaigrette could be used right away or refrigerated until ready to use. Mix well when using it later as the tahini tends to settle down a bit.
To Assemble the Salad
Combine all the chopped vegetables along with the cooled-down farro.
Pour the Tahini Vinaigrette over the salad and mix to combine.
Check for the seasoning and adjust based on your preference.
Expert Tips
Farro could be cooked in bulk and refrigerated to use for salad. The Tahini dressing can also be made ahead of time. I like to make the salad the night before and chill before packing it for the lunch box. Any vegetable can be added or taken out based on personal liking. We can skip the feta cheese to make this Farro salad Vegan. If short on time, use any of your favorite store-bought dressings to dress the farro salad.
Frequently asked questions
More filling salad recipes
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