Farro Salad With Beets, Greens and Feta

By Martha Rose Shulman

Farro Salad With Beets, Greens and Feta
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
1 hour and 10 minutes
Rating
5(1,456)
Comments
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Farro is a sturdy grain that stands up well to formidable ingredients like beets, their greens and salty feta cheese. That hardiness and versatility, as well as its sweet, nutty flavor, have made farro a popular option for filling out a salad in order to create a main dish. If you’re in doubt, sliced or shredded poached or roasted chicken would make a nice addition. Either way the farro absorbs color from the red beets, giving the dish a pinkish tint that only deepens as hours pass. (In fact, you can make the dish up to a day ahead. And it travels well, making it fine picnic fare.) Soak the grains for an hour before cooking, and be sure to cook until tender, or else the salad will be chewy.

Featured in: Getting Your Grains — and Greens, Too

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Ingredients

Yield:8 servings
  • 2medium or 3 small beets (any color) with greens, the beets roasted, the greens stemmed and washed in two changes of water
  • 1cup farro, soaked for one hour in water to cover and drained
  • Salt, preferably kosher salt, to taste
  • 2tablespoons sherry vinegar
  • 1teaspoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1small garlic clove, minced or pureed
  • 1teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • ½cup extra virgin olive oil (may substitute 1 to 2 tablespoons walnut oil for 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil)
  • ½cup broken walnut pieces
  • 2ounces feta or goat cheese, crumbled (more if desired for garnish)
  • ¼cup chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, tarragon, marjoram, chives, mint
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

271 calories; 20 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 11 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 18 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 171 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring 2 quarts water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Fill a bowl with ice water. When the water comes to a boil, add salt to taste and the greens. Blanch for two minutes, and transfer to the ice water. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then drain and squeeze out excess water. Chop coarsely and set aside.

  2. Step 2

    Bring the water back to a boil, and add the farro. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes, stirring from time to time, or until the farro is tender. Remove from the heat and allow the grains to swell in the cooking water for 10 minutes, then drain.

  3. Step 3

    While the farro is cooking, make the vinaigrette. Whisk together the vinegars, salt, garlic and mustard. Whisk in the oil(s). Add to the farro. Peel and dice the beets and add, along with the beet greens, feta or goat cheese, herbs and walnuts. Toss together, and serve warm or room temperature with a little more cheese sprinkled over the top if you wish.

Tip
  • The roasted beets and cooked beet greens will keep for three or four days in the refrigerator, and the cooked farro for five days. You can assemble this salad hours or even a day ahead; it will redden with time.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
1,456 user ratings
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Comments

cheching

I have made this with both feta and goat cheese (not at the same time), and they were both equally delicious! Also, I'm not sure why the farro recipes on this site always call for an inordinate amount of olive oil in the vinaigrette, but I only used 1/4 cup and it was more than enough. The unintended benefit of reducing the olive oil is that it cuts a HECK of a lot of calories from this dish.

Erica

It says the beets are roasted in the notes, but I don't see anything about actually roasting them in the recipe?

kathrin

Great salad! But I wouldn't use that much oil next time...

Lois

I simplified and modified this recipe, so don't hate me. I cooked the farro without soaking. For each serving, I put mixed salad greens on a plate, a little torn basil and mint, beets, toasted walnuts, goat cheese and shallots (soaked first in ice water to mellow them), and farro. I lightly drizzled each serving with olive oil, blackberry balsamic vinegar, and prosecco vinegar. It was truly fabulous. I served it with pan seared halibut drizzled with leftover basil butter.

Kathleen Kjos

Goodness! We had this for dinner on one of our hot nights in Phoenix recently. I had the foresight to roast the beets and cook the farro early in the morning. When it was time for dinner I simply nuked the farro for just under two minutes and continued as though it had just been cooked. Everything else was prepared exactly as written. I loved the pink color from the beets! I can’t wait to prepare this again, this time with Chioggia beets. Oh, the color!

Heather

To make this gluten free, I replace farro with quinoa which is delicious. I bet brown rice would be a good sub and may mimic farro a bit more closely but I don't like the hassle of preparing it when quinoa works great and is done much more quickly.

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