Farro and Roasted Pepper Salad Recipe

By
Nick Kindelsperger
Nick Kindelsperger is a contributing writer at Serious Eats.
Nick Kindelsperger
Nick Kindelsperger is a food critic at the Chicago Tribune.  His food writing appears in The Washington Post, Newsweek, Epicurious, Baltimore Sun, Serious Eats, Grub Street, New York Magazine, and Tasting Table, among others.
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Updated Apr. 29, 2019
farro and roasted pepper salad

I've become kind of obsessed with the salads (or "salads") that ditch lettuce and instead bulk things out with heaps of whole grains. Not only do they make filling main courses, but I always make sure to have leftovers hanging around in the fridge since they also make for tasty latenight snacks. In this case, the bulk is farro—a grain I don't use as much as I'd like.

There is nothing especially revelatory about this version from Yotam Ottolenghi's Plenty; no special tricks or hard-to-source ingredients are used. It's just a mess of flavorful items all tossed together in the same bowl. If there is anything that sets this apart from the many others, it's probably the dressing, which gets some complexity from allspice and smoked paprika.

Recipe Details

Farro and Roasted Pepper Salad Recipe

Active 45 mins
Total 60 mins
Serves 4 servings

Ingredients

For the Dressing:

  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (from about 1 medium lemon)

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil

  • 1 tablespoon honey

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

  • 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika, plus more for garnish

  • 1/2 garlic clove, crushed

  • 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

For the Farro Salad:

  • 3/4 cup farro

  • 2 red bell peppers

  • 10 black olives, pitted and quartered lengthwise

  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped

  • 3 scallions, thinly sliced

  • 4 ounces feta, crumbled

Directions

  1. For the Dressing: Whisk together all of the ingredients and set aside.

  2. For the Farro Salad: Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add farro, reduce heat to maintain a simmer, and cook according to the directions on the packaging, anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour. When done, drain in a colander or sieve, rinse under cold water, and set aside to drain.

  3. Meanwhile, using a small pairing knife, cut around the stem of each pepper, removing the stem along with all the seeds. Set a grill pan over high heat. Place peppers on the grill pan and cook, flipping occasionally, until totally black on all sides, 20 to 30 minutes. When done, transfer to a bag and set aside for a few minutes to steam. Once cool, remove the blackened skin, and cut the flesh into 3/8-inch-wide slices.

  4. In a large mixing bowl, combine cooked farro, red pepper slices, olives, thyme, scallions, most of the feta, and dressing. Toss gently, and season to taste with salt. Serve with remaining feta and a sprinkle of paprika.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
282 Calories
18g Fat
26g Carbs
8g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 282
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 18g 23%
Saturated Fat 6g 29%
Cholesterol 25mg 8%
Sodium 870mg 38%
Total Carbohydrate 26g 9%
Dietary Fiber 4g 13%
Total Sugars 10g
Protein 8g
Vitamin C 125mg 623%
Calcium 173mg 13%
Iron 2mg 11%
Potassium 258mg 5%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)