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Home Β» Recipes Β» Lunch Β» Salad

July 30, 2020

Mediterranean Farro Salad with Zucchini

Published July 30, 2020 | Julia Frey (Vikalinka)

Jump to Recipe

Shake up your lunch routine with this delicious Farro Salad! Packed with Mediterranean flavours of olives, capers, cherry tomatoes and zucchini this salad will become a picnic favourite. 

If you are looking for a chicken recipe to compliment this salad, check out my Spatchcock Chicken in Spicy Yogurt Sauce.
Herby Farro Salad with Olives, Cherry Tomatoes and Zucchini Ribbons

Another summer week, another salad recipe but trust me this farro salad is not JUST another salad. I’ve discovered the farro grain a couple of years ago and I was instantly smitten with its earthy taste and texture.

I am a huge fan of adding healthy grains to my salads to give them more substance and nutritious value. So it’s no wonder I would want more variety apart from quinoa.

I mix it up all the time by using different things like millet, buckwheat, lentils, beans, and quinoa. Healthy grains make salads more satisfying, not to mention loaded with extra nutrients!

Herby Farro Salad with Olives, Cherry Tomatoes and Zucchini Ribbons

This farro salad is no exception. Brad’s been so happy taking it to work for his lunches and then raving about it.

I consider that a personal victory since my husband loves his meat and this salad is quite meatless yet very filling and extremely satisfying.

Herby Farro Salad with Olives, Cherry Tomatoes and Zucchini Ribbons

What goes into this salad

Apart from farro this recipe consists of typical everyday ingredients like tomatoes, cucumbers and onions, except that I replaced cucumber with zucchini ribbons.

I quite like using new crop tiny zucchini in the summer. They are so crunchy and fresh when eaten raw!

You might think them tasteless, which could be the case if they are not properly flavoured. But they also become absolutely delicious at the touch of a well-made vinaigrette, which brings me to my next point.

Herby Farro Salad with Olives, Cherry Tomatoes and Zucchini Ribbons

Salad Dressing

I find that a vinaigrette is the best salad dressing for farro as it needs a bit of acidity to wake up this ancient grain. French Vinaigrette might sound posh but in reality it’s the simplest thing ever!

Just mix olive oil, white wine vinegar, dijon mustard, and a tiny amount of garlic with salt and pepper. Shake well and enjoy over salads or grilled vegetables. 

I’ve stopped buying bottled dressings years ago. When we first moved to the UK I couldn’t find any salad dressings I was used to, so I gave up and started making my own.

What I discovered is that salads with homemade dressings taste miles better. They are also cheaper and better for you since you know exactly what’s in there!

I usually double or even triple the recipe I am sharing today, change it up weekly by adding different combination of herbs and store it in a jam jar in the fridge, which lasts us about one week.

Optional Salad Ingredients 

The vegetable combination for this farro salad is limitless!

You can add bell peppers, cucumbers, radishes, sugar snap peas, quite literally anything your heart desires! Feta cheese is also an excellent addition to this salad!

Herby Farro Salad with Olives, Cherry Tomatoes and Zucchini Ribbons For more grain based salads check out my

  • Falafel Salad with Bulgur
  • Quinoa and Puy Lentil Salad
  •  Greek Orzo Salad 

The last one is not technically a grain but still falls in the category of filling salads. 

This recipe was originally published in 08/2017. Updated and republished in 07/2020.

Herby Farro Salad with Olives, Cherry Tomatoes and Zucchini Ribbons

Herby Farro Salad with Olives, Cherry Tomatoes and Zucchini Ribbons

Julia Frey of Vikalinka
Shake up your lunch routine with this delicious Farro Salad! Packed with Mediterranean flavours of olives, capers, cherry tomatoes and zucchini this salad will become a picnic favourite.
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 15 minutes mins
Total Time 25 minutes mins
Course Entree
Cuisine British
Servings 6
Calories 669 kcal

Ingredients
  

For the French Vinaigrette

  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 3 tbsp Olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 tsp fresh or dried herbs of your choice optional

For the Farro Salad

  • 1 can 14oz/400g white beans, butter beans or cannellini beans, drained
  • 2 cups/200g farro cooked
  • 1 small zucchini shaved into ribbons with a vegetable peeler
  • 6-7 red and yellow cherry tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp capers
  • 5-6 Kalamata olives pitted and halved
  • ΒΌ red onion sliced
  • 1 tbsp fresh mint chopped
  • 2 tbsp fresh basil sliced
  • salt to taste

Instructions
 

  • Cook the farro grain according to package instructions, drain and cool.
  • In a large bowl combine all the French vinaigrette ingredients, mix with a whisk until the dressing is emulsified, then add the beans and cooled farro, let it sit for 10-15 minutes for the ingredients to absorb the flavour of the vinaigrette.
  • Then add the remaining ingredients and mix gently until combined.
  • Add more salt if needed.

Nutrition

Calories: 669kcalCarbohydrates: 28gProtein: 4gFat: 61gSaturated Fat: 5gSodium: 109mgPotassium: 222mgFiber: 5gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 230IUVitamin C: 10.4mgCalcium: 23mgIron: 1.4mg
Keyword farro salad
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

 

 

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About Julia Frey (Vikalinka)

Julia Frey is a London based recipe developer and photographer. Julia founded Vikalinka in 2012 with the main mission to provide her readers with delicious and accessible everyday recipes, which could be enjoyed by everyone.
read more..

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Val says

    at

    What is a farro grain? Sorry I never heard of that.

    Reply
    • Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says

      at

      Hi Val, farro is an ancient whole grain, rich in nutrients. It’s widely available in most supermarkets. There is loads of information on it on the internet if you are interested in details.

      Reply
  2. Lindsey says

    at

    This looks delicious! I can’t wait to make it.
    One note: I think the protein information at the botttom may be wrong. There’s definitely more than 1 gram of protein in a serving of this! 3.5 oz of beans (14 oz divided by 4) equals about 19 grams of protein, and 6 grams of protein in 50 oz of farro (200 divided by 4).

    Reply
    • vikalinka says

      at

      Hi Lindsey, I recalculated the nutritional information and I ended up with 4g of protein per serving for 6 servings. When you buy a can of beans or anything canned the weight indicated is always undrained, so some of it is liquid. That being said, I cannot claim 100% accuracy with the nutritional information since I am not a registered dietitian. I use an automated program that calculates nutritional info based on their own database, so this info is only an approximate calculation, that should not be used by people with strict dietary requirements. I simply don’t have the capacity to provide more than that. I hope this makes sense! πŸ™‚

      Reply
  3. kellie@foodtoglow says

    at

    5 stars
    Dressing makes or breaks a salad so it is always worth making your own, adjust to your taste. The classic French vinaigrette is what I tend to do too. And what a way you’ve used it in this lovely grainy, satisfying recipe.As much a treat for the eye as stomach πŸ™‚

    Reply
    • vikalinka says

      at

      Thanks so much, Kellie! I completely agree about dressings, they take hardly any time at all and taste so much fresher!

      Reply

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Julia from Vikalinka

Julia Frey is a London based recipe developer and photographer. Julia founded Vikalinka in 2012 with the main mission to provide her readers with delicious and accessible everyday recipes, which could be enjoyed by everyone.

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Julia Frey is a London based recipe developer and photographer. Julia founded Vikalinka in 2012 with the main mission to provide her readers with delicious and accessible everyday recipes, which could be enjoyed by everyone.

More about me β†’


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