The Seven Salads of Summer continue with number 4, Italian Farro Salad! This one was really fun to make and I added some great extras. I also made the dressing from scratch!
To start, cook the farro. As mentioned in previous posts, farro takes a while to cook. I let that simmer on the stove while I made the dressing and prepped the veggies.
The dressing is super-simple to make. You’ll need white balsamic vinegar, which is a bit pricey. I found a super cute little bottle that I will probably repurpose once used up! Pour a cup or two (depending on how much dressing you like on your salads) into a small bowl. Add a couple tablespoons of Dijon mustard, a dash of salt and pepper, and some chopped basil and oregano. Lastly, add chopped garlic to taste. Whisk everything together and set aside.
This salad turned out to be so colorful! The recipe called for romaine lettuce and radicchio. I had never bought radicchio. I found it in the form of a tiny little head of red and white lettuce. It was adorable! I added spinach and arugula (because I had them on hand and like a mix of leafy greens). I also threw the rainbow of peppers in there, along with little tomatoes, chopped baby carrots, chives, broccoli, and chopped red onion. I got some beautiful garden-fresh cucumbers from my Forensic BBQ In-Laws, so I had to add those too!
Italian Farro Salad also called for “riced cauliflower.” I will be honest, I had no idea what that was. A quick Google search basically described it as grated cauliflower or finely chopped cauliflower. I decided to steam the cauliflower first to soften it a bit. A long time ago, I bought a rice and vegetable steamer. I have gotten so much use out of that thing! And, it’s easy to clean and store. After steaming, I chopped the cauliflower and added it to the other veggies.
This salad also has a surprise! BEANS! Cannellini beans, to be specific. Beans are a staple of vegetarian eating. They are full of protein (the most commonly asked question I get as a vegetarian is “Where do you get your protein?”), folate, magnesium, phosphorous, iron, potassium, and fiber. Beans are low in calories and inexpensive too! Eating beans also lowers your LDL (bad) cholesterol. The fiber in beans causes them to have a low glycemic index, which is important for managing blood sugar. So, beans really are the superhero of this story.
I have dried cannellini beans, but didn’t soak them so I had to use canned. Worked just as well. I added a full can of cannellini beans to my salad mix. The cooked (and cooled) farro went into the mix, which was then topped with the homemade dressing. I mixed it all together and cooled it in the fridge overnight. It was delicious! So many different tastes and colors and textures… I will definitely be adding this one to my list of favorites!!
Best thing about this salad-it’s eaten cold and makes a lot of servings. Mr. FBBQ and I went camping this weekend and I brought this along as one of my dinners. Such a great camping meal! I brought fresh bread to toast over the fire, but it got a bit waterlogged in the cooler. The birds at our campsite were grateful for the gift, especially Birdadette, an exceptionally piggy seagull.