Winter Farro Salad

While salad may not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of a comforting winter meal, you haven’t tried my Farro Winter Salad.  This salad is wholesome, filling and chock full of roasted vegetables and farro.  Hearty enough to be eaten as a main meal, this salad is also great served alongside a nice steak or my Beet and Sweet Potato Fritters.  

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For those of you that have never cooked with farro, it’s really worth trying.  And this comes from someone who isn’t much of a grain-eater (I blame it on the fact that my mom fed me too much rice as a kid).  Farro has a great texture and nutty, earthy flavor.  It holds up well in this salad and doesn’t turn mushy or soggy.  In fact, this entire salad holds up well and will easily keep in the refrigerator for a few days, especially if stored separate from the vinaigrette.  

This salad requires a few steps, but none of them are difficult.  To start, cook the farro.  Bring one quart of water and one teaspoon of salt to a boil.  Rinse ½ cup of farro, add it to the boiling water and cook uncovered on medium to medium-high for thirty minutes. Drain the farro and spread it out on a clean baking sheet to cool.  Set aside.

Meanwhile, cut about a quarter of a purple cabbage into thin ¼ inch ribbons (about 4 cups shredded cabbage).  Place the cabbage in a bowl along with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and ½ teaspoon of salt.  Toss to combine, then spread the cabbage out onto a rimmed baking sheet.  Roast at 350 deg F until the cabbage is soft and the edges start to brown, about 15 minutes.  Halfway through cooking, stir the cabbage.  Once cooked, set aside to cool.

Next, wash, trim and cut a large stalk of broccoli into bite-size florets (about four cups of chopped broccoli).  Place the broccoli in a large skillet that has been coated with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.  Cook the broccoli over high heat to char the edges.  That char equates to tons of flavor!  Once the broccoli has good color, add ½ cup of water and ½ teaspoon of salt to the pan, cover and continue to cook the broccoli until the water has evaporated, about 5 minutes.  Remove the broccoli from the heat and let it cool slightly.

While the vegetables cool, make the vinaigrette.  Add 6 tablespoons of olive oil, three tablespoons of red wine vinegar, ½ tablespoon of Dijon mustard, ½ teaspoon of kosher salt, ½ teaspoon of pepper and 2 teaspoons of honey to a glass container with a tight fitting lid.  Shake the jar vigorously to mix.

To assemble the salad, layer four cups of baby spinach onto a large platter.  Top the spinach with the roasted cabbage, broccoli and farro.  Add half the vinaigrette and toss to combine.  Taste and add additional vinaigrette as desired. Enjoy.