I am not a huge fan of salad (weird to hear from a nutrition student, right?!), but for some reason I have been obsessed with Greek salads lately. When I received my box full of Brandless goodies in the mail, I decided to use the farro to make a Greek-inspired farro salad. This salad is full of veggies and yummy feta cheese and drizzled with a 'citrusy spin' on traditional Greek dressing.
For those of you who have never cooked with farro before, here are a few quick facts.
- good source of fiber and iron
- good source of Vitamin A and E
- ancient grain similar to brown rice with a bit of a nuttier flavor
I used organic pearled farro from Brandless, you can find it here by following the link below!
Ingredients (makes about 5-6 servings)
- 1 cup uncooked farro
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes cut into quarters
- 1 cup cucumber cut into quarters
- 1/4 cup sliced kalamata olives
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/2 cup chopped red onion (less than 1/2 a red onion)
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- 1/2 cup Greek dressing
for the dressing
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 tsp. dried basil
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp. sugar
- salt and pepper to taste
How to make it
- cook farro according to directions on package
- while farro is cooking, cut the tomatoes and cucumber into quarters
- cut the red onion, parsley leaves, and olives (if not already sliced)
- once all ingredients are chopped, make the dressing
- to make the dressing combine olive oil, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, dried basil, garlic powder, and sugar
- add salt and pepper to taste to the dressing
- once farro is done cooking and has cooled, toss all mix-ins into a medium bowl with the farro
- top with dressing and mix until well combined
- enjoy now or store in the refrigerator for 2-3 days
Finished product
For next time...
The dressing is very lemony which I love, but I understand that some people might not love lemon flavor as much as I do! If that is you, I would decrease the lemon juice from 1/4 cup to 3 tbsp.
Variations
If you want to skip making the homemade dressing, feel free to use ready made Greek salad dressing or any dressing of your choice! Additionally, you can leave out any topping that you wish. If you are not a fan of red onion, you could try substituting green onion. If you have a rice cooker, you can cook the farro using that instead of cooking it on the stove top for an easier more hands off option.
All in all
This salad is a great way to incorporate veggies and a healthy source of grain into your diet. Not to mention it is delicious! Let me know what you think of the recipe. Happy almost New Year to all!
Thanks to my little sous chef...
