Italian Farro Salad

An Italian Farro Salad made with juicy and sweet cherry tomatoes, peppery radishes, fragrant fresh herbs, and a zingy vinaigrette. This feel-good salad is great for eating outdoors, as a packed lunch or a healthy side dish and couldn't be simpler to make!

Whenever you feel like you need a big bowl of goodness but fancy a salad with some bite and texture then THIS Italian farro salad is exactly what you need. It's packed with nutrition, tastes good and is quick to prepare winning!

So What is Farro Exactly?

Farro is an ancient Italian grain that's similar to spelt or barley. It has a chewy texture, nutty flavour and is SO incredibly good for you as well as being easy to prepare.

It's so popular and commonly used in traditional Italian cuisine particularly in salads. The great thing about a farro salad is it can be prepped in advance and the flavours get a chance to develop and soak into the grain as it sits, so good!

How to Make Farro Salad – Step By Step

Put the farro in a large saucepan, cover with plenty salted water and bring to a boil. Cook for 15-20 minutes until tender, drain and cool (photos 1 & 2).

Add the lemon, olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper into a large bowl and whisk until emulsified. Add the chopped herbs and stir (photos 3 & 4).

Add all the vegetables to the bowl alongside with cooled farro. Mix everything together to combine. Check for seasoning and add more if required and serve (photos 5 & 6).

Ways to Adapt this Salad

You can add whatever you want to a farro salad and take advantage of what the seasons have to offer it's also a great way to use up any leftover veggies you might have.

Cucumber, chickpeas, peppers, artichokes, grilled veggies or even mozzarella would all work well (to name a few). Farro is a great, good and healthy base for adding whatever veggies you have in your fridge or feel like that day and we often mix it up with different flavours and textures.

Top Tip: Use vegetables that are in season (and good quality) for the best tasting salad. We don't use a ton of ingredients and you don't need much if everything tastes great.

The Dressing

Don't be afraid to change up the dressing either, we kept this recipe simple and fresh and we love it on sunny days for lunch or as a side to fish or grilled chicken for dinner.

If you want to serve it as a main why not add in some extra herbs or spices you could even add some mustard into the dressing for a little kick!

Top Tips for Making the Best Farro Salad

• Check the cooking time for your particular brand of farro as it may differ.
• Don't forget to season the water for cooking the farro with salt it's important for adding flavour to the salad otherwise it'll taste bland.
• Whisk the dressing until emulsified (combined completely and smooth in appearance) before tossing with the rest of the ingredients.
• Let the farro cool before adding to the salad. It doesn't need to be completely cold if you are eating it straight away but it shouldn't be hot.
• No farro? spelt or barley would be great alternatives and can be prepared in the exact same way.
• This salad is so easy to adapt with different veggies, herbs, and spices so add in whatever you like!
• This salad will last well covered in the fridge for 1-2 days.

More good Italian Salads You Might Like:

• Tuna Panzanella – Italian Bread Salad
• Tuna White Bean Salad with Basil and Lemon
• Classic Caprese Salad – Easy, Fresh & good
• Loaded Lentil Salad With Eggplant And Burrata

Ingredients

Makes 4 people (or 6 as a side dish)

• ~1 1/4 cups Farro ((250g))
• ~7 ounces cherry tomatoes (, cut in half (200g))
• 1 red onion (, finely sliced)
• 3 radishes (, finely sliced)
• 1 large handful of basil (, roughly chopped)
• 1 large handful of parsley (, roughly chopped)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• Juice of half a lemon
• Salt and pepper (to season)

Method

1. Put the farro in a large sauce pan, cover with plenty salted water and bring to a boil. Cook for 15-20 minutes until tender, drain and cool.

2. Add the lemon, olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper into a large bowl and whisk until emulsified. Add the chopped herbs and stir.

3. Add all the vegetables to the bowl alongside with cooled farro. Mix everything together to combine. Check for seasoning and add more if required. Serve.

Kitchen notes

• Check the cooking time for your particular brand of farro as it may differ.
• Don't forget to season the water for cooking the farro with salt it's important for adding flavour to the salad otherwise it'll taste bland.
• Whisk the dressing until emulsified (combined completely and smooth in appearance) before tossing with the rest of the ingredients.
• Let the farro cool before adding to the salad. It doesn't need to be completely cold if you are eating it straight away but it shouldn't be hot.
• No farro? spelt or barley would be great alternatives and can be prepared in the exact same way.
• This salad is so easy to adapt with different veggies, herbs, and spices so add in whatever you like!
• This salad will last well covered in the fridge for 1-2 days.