I’m experimenting with a new grain this week, farro, and the first thing I wanted to make was a salad. Farro is a delightful chewy grain with a neutral flavor that will make any salad very “meal” worthy. I decided to go a mediterranean route with tomato, cucumber, seasoned and sautéed chickpeas, and my favorite creamy (and vegan) tahini dressing. This Mediterranean Farro Salad was pretty quick to prepare and I can keep the ingredients in the fridge all week to assemble whenever I want a fresh salad.
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What is Farro?
Farro is an “ancient grain” with a delightfully chewy texture and nutty flavor. It’s packed with protein and fiber, but has a neutral flavor, which makes it a great addition to salads, bowl meals, skillets, and more. Farro isn’t quite as popular in the U.S. as other grains, so you’re more likely to find it at health food stores or international markets.
How Do You Cook Farro?
Farro is really easy to cook. Like other grains, you simply boil it in water until tender. I suggest making a batch of farro to use throughout the week, so you don’t have to cook it fresh every night. This salad recipe assumes you have farro already cooked. For detailed cooking instructions, check my tutorial on How to Cook Farro.
Can I Use a Different Grain?
Absolutely! If you don’t like farro or can’t find it in your area, you can use bulgur (cracked wheat), couscous, brown rice, or even quinoa in place of the farro.
Mediterranean Farro Salad with Spiced Chickpeas
Servings 4Ingredients
DRESSING
- 1/3 cup tahini ($1.13)
- 1/3 cup water ($0.00)
- 1/4 cup lemon juice ($0.18)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.03)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
SPICED CHICKPEAS
- 1 15oz. can chickpeas ($1.15)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.12)
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.03)
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional) ($0.02)
- Freshly cracked black pepper (10-15 cranks of a mill) ($0.03)
- Salt to taste ($0.02)
SALAD
- 3 cups cooked farro (or other grain) ($1.49)
- 2 Roma tomatoes ($1.39)
- 1 cucumber ($0.99)
- 1/4 bunch fresh parsley ($0.79)
Instructions
- To make the dressing, combine the tahini, water, lemon juice, minced garlic, cumin, cayenne, and salt in a blender. Blend until smooth. Set the dressing aside until ready to use (keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days).
- Rinse and drain the chickpeas in a colander. Heat the olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Once hot add the drained chick peas. Sprinkle the smoked paprika, garlic powder, cayenne pepper (if using), and some freshly cracked pepper over top. Stir the chickpeas to coat in the spices, then continue to sauté for about five minutes, or until the outside of the chickpeas are slightly browned and blistered. Season with salt to taste.
- Chop the tomatoes, cucumber, and parsley. Place about 3/4 cup cooked farro in each bowl, then top with chopped tomato, chopped cucumber, spiced chickpeas, and a large pinch of chopped parsley. Drizzle the dressing over top and serve.
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Nutrition
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How to Make Mediterranean Farro Salad – Step by Step Photos
Make the dressing first so that the flavors have a few minutes to mingle. Add 1/3 cup tahini (sesame seed paste), 1/3 cup water, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 2 cloves of garlic (minced), 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, and 1/2 tsp salt to a blender. Blend until smooth. Set the dressing aside, or refrigerate for longer storage (up to five days).
Dice two roma tomatoes and one cucumber. Roughly chop about 1/4 bunch parsley (I only chopped a small amount of parsley in the photo).
Rinse and drain a 15oz. can of chickpeas.
Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a non-stick skillet and heat over a medium flame. Add the chickpeas, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/8 tsp cayenne (optional), and some freshly cracked pepper (about 10-15 cranks of a mill). Stir to coat the chickpeas in oil and spices. Continue to sauté the chickpeas until they get slightly brown and blistered on the outside (about 5 minutes). Season with salt to your liking.
Begin to assemble the bowls by placing about 3/4 cup cooked farro in each bowl, then topping with some diced tomato, cucumber, spiced chickpeas, and a sprinkle of the chopped parsley.
Drizzle the tahini dressing over top.
And now it’s time to eat! There’s so much flavor packed into this one bowl, it’s incredible.
Nomnomnomnomnom…
Chickpeas and brown rice, cous cous, or pasta, tossed with spinach or another veggie, has been my lunch nearly every day for a couple of months now. I usually throw them in plain, but I’ll have to try your recipe because it sounds delicious!
This was fantastic! I subbed peanut butter + sesame oil for the tahini, and added feta and spinach. So hearty and so filling for 4 generous portions!
Ummm…this was amazing. Thanks for the healthy and delish recipe!
I love cooking salads, it is definitely the better choice when wanting to go to sleep and not feeling heavy right? I particularly liked your Mediterranean Salad recipe! I tried a delicious similar option at Barilla Restaurants, have you been there? Here´s the link http://www.barillarestaurants.com/menu/Insalate/Mediterranea I decided to cook it myself as well, for the sake of trying and results were amazing!
Thank you Beth for the recipe! I was looking for ways to cook and serve faro for some time (cooked 1 cup = 2 dinners and 2 lunches). I also added feta cheese to the salad and had it for dinner. We loved it!
wow!its really amazing recipe .am going to try out really , this is very healthy and give full nutrients strength to the body and make free from all diseases .thanks for posting.
I’m eating this salad right now. It’s awesome! I bought tahini a while ago & have been looking for recipes to use it. This is a keeper! Next time I’d probably add another tomato. I’d never had farro before this but I really like it. Thanks for the recipe!
Tried this tonight. It was first time using farro. I switched the tahini for blue cheese and added some avocado. Really enjoyed it. Loved the texture. Saved some farro for breakfast and the banana walnut recipe you posted. I will definitely be buying from whole foods instead of Harris Teeter at $6+ a bag!
Oh perfect, I have a small amount of faro in my cupboard and have been hemming and hawing about what to do with it, so I’ll make this! Perfect!
Going to try this… silly question though; do you serve the farro hot/warm/cold?
I ate it cold with this salad. It just depends on what recipe you’re using it with. :)
Thanks! I guess I’ll try it both ways! I wonder if it’ll work cold with brown rice, as well. Guess I’ll find out!
I’m sure brown rice would be fine, too! You can almost use any cooked grain here. :)
Great recipe! I made two changes: one, I had freekeh on hand so I used that instead of farro; and two, I was too lazy to get out the blender so I just stirred the tahini sauce by hand instead. It turned out great! This is definitely going on the regular rotation in our house.
The only downside is that it seems like it might be hard to pack as a lunch? I imagine that the cuke & tomatoes might get soggy if you mix them beforehand–but would love to be wrong :)
Thanks, Beth!
I’ve made this twice to bring to work for lunches – I mix together and then portion out the farro/cucumber/tomato/parsley into individual containers (I get 4 good-sized servings out of this recipe), then divide the dressing into separate smaller containers as well. When it’s time for lunch I just pour the dressing over and it keeps everything from getting soggy :) love this recipe!
Boom, just made this, wifey approved!
I am so excited to make this! I think I’m going to run out and buy a cucumber and tomato tonight!
I’ve made some lemon-tahini dressings before but I’ve always had to tweak them a bunch, Judging by my experience I think yours is going to be the ratio I’ve been looking for all along
Thank you for sharing a delicious, hearty vegan recipe.
I had farro in the pantry andI didn’t know what to do with it, so I was so glad to see you doing this series of recipes. . I made this today and oh my goodness it is delicious!
Beth, this recipe is amazing! You have truly out done yourself this time. I seriously thought this could’ve easily come from a legitimate Mediterranean cafe after having just two bites.