Farro and Pine Nut Salad

By Caitie

If you choose a grain other than farro, your cooking time will probably be different.

The original recipe included jalapenos, which is why they’re shown in the photo above, but I decided not to use them.

Ingredients

• 1 cup farro (or another whole grain, such as wheat berries, barley, or brown rice)
• salt
• 1 clove garlic, unpeeled
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• Juice from 1 lemon
• 1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced
• 2 large heirloom tomatoes, chopped, or 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 small cucumber, quartered and sliced 1/8-inch thick
• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup feta, crumbled
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Details

Adapted from crumblycookie.net

Preparation

Step 1

1. Bring 2 quarts of water to a roiling boil; add the farro and 2 teaspoons of salt. Cook for 20 minutes, until the farro is tender but slightly chewy. Drain.

2. Squeeze the juice of the lemon into a large bowl; add the onions and a pinch of salt. Set aside.

3. Heat a small not-nonstick pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and toast it, turning once, until browned, about 2 minutes. Remove the garlic from the pan. Add the pine nuts to the pan and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant and slightly browned, 3-4 minutes. Remove from the pan. When the garlic is cool enough to handle, peel and mince it.

4. Stir the drained farro into the onion vinegar mixture, then add the remaining ingredients. Let the salad stand at room temperature for at least 10 minutes before serving.