Winter Farro Salad with Roasted Vegetables and Feta

This farro salad made me question everything I know about cooking.

It’s so straightforward, so easy, and relies on ingredients that are readily available- even in the winter. It doesn’t take long to make and it’ll leave you with leftovers that get better the next day. It’s vegetarian. It’s healthy.

It’s the kind of food I want to eat all the time, but arrogantly reject for more complicated projects.

Last night, this dinner brought me right back down to earth.

this recipe

The combination of nutty farro, savory-sweet winter vegetables and salty feta cheese makes this dinner as addictive as dessert. There’s chew, there’s bite, there’s creaminess and crunchiness.

It’s a dynamite combination of flavor and texture that blends seamlessly into one flawless forkful.

It sounds like I’m exaggerating, but I just can’t help myself- I’m too excited to eat this again for lunch.

I modified a farro and roasted carrot salad recipe from Joshua McFadden’s Six Seasons that I’ve made numerous times with great success, but without great ease or simplicity.

I shortened the ingredients list, smoothed out the kinks in the process and ended up with an unexpected weeknight winner. (If you’ve got more time on your hands, I would highly suggest trying out the original recipe from Six Seasons, along with countless other inspiring dishes in the book.)

Let’s make winter farro salad

You can use whatever vegetables are in season near you, or whatever’s on sale at Big Y. Try a combination of carrots and beets, or butternut squash and red onion. Add roasted sweet potato, turnips, or parsnips. Anything goes- but a mix of two or three vegetables is ideal.

Swap the dried apricots for dates or dried cherries, the pistachios for walnuts or pecans. Don’t skimp on the feta. Add a can of beans!

Try this warm farro salad on the side of a glazed roast chicken or fall-inspired pork tenderloin. It’s also wonderful on its own as a hearty vegetarian main dish.

The endless variations on this meal keep it delicious and exciting each time you try it, making it a prime candidate for your permanent weeknight rotation.

It’s the kind of dinner you’ll wake up the next morning excited to write about (just me?) and eager to tell your friends about like a juicy piece of gossip.

Feel free to use exaggerated praise for this recipe (and for the inimitable Joshua McFadden) to anyone who will listen- it just might change the way they think about cooking, too.

Print Recipe

Winter Farro Salad with Roasted Vegetables and Feta

(7 votes, average: 4.43 out of 5)

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Dinner; Lunch – American

By Samantha – Serves: 6

Prep Time: 15 – Cooking Time: 30 – Total Time: 45

An insanely delicious combination of flavor and texture makes this warm farro salad an easy, healthy, vegetarian weeknight winner.

Ingredients

• 2 cups chopped winter vegetables (a mix of butternut squash, red onion, and parsnips suggested)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cups cooked farro (about 1 cup dried)
• ½ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup dried apricots, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup roasted pistachios, whole or chopped if preferred
• 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 3 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar, plus more to taste

Instructions

1

Heat oven to 425°F. Spread the mixed vegetables onto a sheet pan and toss with a good glug of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning. Roast until tender and lightly browned, 20-30 minutes depending on what vegetables you’re using.

2

Add the roasted vegetables, cooked farro, apricots, parsley, and pistachios to a large bowl. Season with the vinegar and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Toss, then taste. Add additional salt, pepper, olive oil or vinegar if necessary. Keep adjusting until it’s so good that you want to eat it right out of the bowl. Stir in the feta cheese (if you mix it in too early, it will melt from the heat of the vegetables).

3

Enjoy for dinner, then eat for lunch for the rest of the week. This stuff makes 5-star leftovers.

Nutrition

• 416 Calories

Notes

Try a dry or off-dry, oak-aged, richly textured Chenin Blanc or Chardonnay to play off the sweet caramelized vegetables and roasted nuts. A crisp, grassy Sauvignon Blanc would complement the herbs.