I discovered farro a few years ago and fell in love with it. Food and Wine had a recipe for farro with fried cauliflower and prosciutto, but it didn’t quite hit the mark. Farro is such a healthful grain that adding fried cauliflower to it felt so wrong. Also, the recipe called for adding all of the veggies to the broth to “add flavor” to the farro, but it didn’t add any additional flavor, it just had me waste a bunch of vegetables I could have used elsewhere.
Anyway, I started to play with the recipe over the years until I got it to where I liked it. It is absolutely amazing how such a short ingredient list still produces a salad that is bursting with flavors. My husband loves this dish. Normally, we just eat it as is, but it’s easy to add a side salad or chunky bread, if you desire.
Farro takes about 30 minutes to cook, and it’s okay if it doesn’t absorb all of the liquid. Actually, it’s better to put in too much liquid than not enough. Just test it at the 30 minute mark. If it’s too el dente for you, cook it a bit longer, retesting it at 5 minute increments. My husband pers the farro cooked a little more, so I end up cooking my farro closer to 40 minutes. Then drain it in a colander!
Rather than frying cauliflower and adding all that unnecessary fat, I bake the cauliflower on a very high temperature to give it a strong toast. Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn. It should have a strong singe or char across the surface but not burnt through.
Instead of prosciutto, I opt for pancetta. Don’t get me wrong, I love prosciutto too. But, pancetta works nicely in this dish. I ask my local deli to cut me about three slices of pancetta, sliced about half an inch thick. They have no problem giving me a few thick slabs that I can then chop into half inch cubes.
Finally, to give the dish an extra pop of flavor, I stir it together with finely minced sun-dried tomatoes. If you can only find julienned or whole sun-dried tomatoes, just finely blend them in a food processor. This and feta gives this dish the added flavors to make this a robust Mediterranean dish that is exploding with flavors. Everything compliments each other.
Every time I make this, I forget how simple the ingredient list is because there is SO MUCH FLAVOR! This is such a great weekday meal because it’s quick, easy, and healthful.
Enjoy!
Farro Salad with Pancetta & Roasted Cauliflower
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 to 6 servings 1x
- Category: Mediterranean, Salad
- Cuisine: Dinner
Ingredients
1½ cups farro
6 cups chicken stock
1 head of cauliflower, chopped into large chunks
¾ lb pancetta, cut into ½” cubes
8.5 oz sun-dried tomatoes (if the jar of tomatoes are whole or julienned, finely chop them in a food processor)
2 cups feta
1 TB grated Parmesan
2 tsps dried oregano
2 tsps garlic salt
1 tsp black pepper
pinch of red pepper flakes
drizzle of olive oil
salt and pepper
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 500°
In a medium sized pot, heat the chicken stock and a large pinch of salt over medium heat with the lid on. Once boiling, add the farro and stir. Stir occasionally and cook for about 30 minutes, or until it reaches your desired texture. Drain and add to a large bowl.
Meanwhile, spread the cauliflower on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the red pepper flakes, oregano, garlic salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese. Mix with your hands to combine and then spread the cauliflower evenly. Place in the oven on the middle rack. Cook for about ten minutes and then flip. Cook for an additional ten minutes. Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn. It should have a nice dark surface char but not black through. Remove from oven and add to the large bowl.
While the farro and cauliflower cook, cook the pancetta in a medium pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until golden brown ~ about 5 minutes. Remove and drain onto paper towels, then add to the bowl.
When the farro, cauliflower, and pancetta are all in the bowl, spoon in the sun-dried tomatoes and mix until thoroughly blended. Add in the feta and toss to combine.
Serve!
Keywords: Farro, Ancient Grains, Farro Salad, Roasted Cauliflower, Farro and Roasted Cauliflower Salad
