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.
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…
This is just what I needed after a month of stress-eating junk, and feeling too busy to care. It is a cleansing, nourishing comfort food that I stumbled upon at just the right time. Like others, I added feta, and also agree that it is amazing without, but even better with (if dairy is an option). The recipe was very easy to follow and it was a snap putting it together. I cannot get enough of the dressing. I made extra for veggie-dipping snacks. YUMMM! This has just become a go-to dish. Thank you.
love this receipee
I made this following the recipe exactly.
When making it with leftovers, I added spring onion and a handful of spring mix greens. I didn’t put the tomatoes or cucumber in it to store it so I could reheat the farro and chick peas. I tried once with goat cheese but it didn’t need it at all. Love this salad.
We make this probably once a month. I make 2 types of beans because my kids don’t love chickpeas but they eat everything else in the recipe. I’ve started skipping the dressing just to save time and use ranch on busy nights, but the dressing is great too! Thanks for a great, filling meat free recipe!
Loved it! Very filling! I added avocado (it only had 1-2 days before it went bad and I hate wasting food). I added vegan feta and kalamata olives. Also, for the dressing, my jar of tahini looked like it had 1/3 of a cup, so I just eyeballed it and made the dressing in the jar. It was wonderful. Saved me cleaning the blender too lol
I had to make a couple of changes because of supply issues, but was still pretty happy with the results. I have yet to find farro in any of my local shops (and haven’t yet got curious enough about it to buy online) and tahini was out of stock, with no known date of return, so I ended up modifying the recipe to use mayonnaise and toasted sesame seed oil.
Should this be reheated or eaten cold?
I eat the leftovers cold. :) When it’s first prepared, the farro and chickpeas will be warm and the rest of the ingredients room temperature or chilled.
Thanks, I’m planning to bring this to a potluck as a cold salad. Good or bad idea?
Delicious and simple! I added roasted red pepper as well 🙂
This dish is VERY delicious!
Made this today – terrific! Added a little feta, but this would have been fine without it. Love the dressing.
This is very tasty! I just meal prepped this for my lunches this week. I will definitely make this again many times over.
The salad tastes great