I’m so excited to be working with my friends at Amber Waves Farm in Amagansett, New York this summer. The farm grows organic vegetables, fruit, flowers, and wheat and over the last few years I have loved experimenting with the different fruits and veggies that show up in the CSA box each week. This year, Amber Waves opened a beautiful new farm store, and to celebrate, I’ll be sharing recipes inspired by what’s in season and available at the farm all summer long. Wherever you live, I hope you’ll find inspiration to cook seasonally, eat locally, and explore delicious new ways eat your way through the summer!
This week I’m excited to share my recipe for Greek Grain Salad- an easy, crowd-pleasing side for all your summer P’s (parties, picnics and potlucks!) Big grain salads are one of my go-tos for cooking for groups, and this one in particular makes great use of summer vegetables – Amber Waves grows peppers, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, parsley and even onions and garlic.
This salad has all the flavors and satisfying crunch of a classic Greek salad, with farro instead of lettuce. Farro is my favorite grain – it’s deliciously nutty and chewy and only takes a half hour to cook, or 10 minutes if you can find the pearled kind. In this case, farro not only makes the salad a more substantial side for a party but also makes it a better dish to prepare in advance, and a better one to bring to the beach! Speaking of the beach, it might just be time for a dip…
Greek Grain Salad
Ingredients
- 1½ cups farro
- Kosher salt
- 2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded and cut into ½-inch wide strips
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1½ teaspoons minced garlic (1 large clove)
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large English cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded, and ½-inch diced
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved lengthwise
- ¾ cup small-diced red onion
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
- ½ cup pitted Kalamata olives
- 8 ounces feta cheese, ½-inch diced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- In a large saucepan, combine the farro, 4 cups water, and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, or until the farro is tender. (If all the water evaporates before the farro is tender, add an additional 1 cup water.) Drain any remaining liquid and place the farro in a large bowl.
- Meanwhile, place the red pepper slices on the prepared sheet pan and toss with 2 teaspoons olive oil and ¼ teaspoon salt. Roast for 20 minutes, turning once halfway through, then set aside to cool.
- In a small glass measuring cup, whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, oregano, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Slowly whisk in 3 tablespoons olive oil. Pour the dressing over the hot farro, stir well, and allow to cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
- Add the roasted peppers, cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, parsley, and olives to the farro. Mix until combined, then gently fold in the feta. Serve or store in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 3 days, before serving.Copyright 2017, Lidey Heuck, All Rights Reserved
My family loves this salad. I’ve made it over and over! Sometimes I use quinoa, which I like to make in the rice cooker. Thank you for a great recipe!
Made this salad last night with simple grilled chicken. Talk about a crowd pleaser!!
Is this similar to tabouleh? I have such difficulty finding bulgar wheat.
Hi Susie, It is somewhat similar to tabbouleh, but with more veggies and feta! Farro is a chewier, more hearty grain than bulgur, which gives this salad great texture. I hope you enjoy it 🙂
This salad is a family favorite and is so good as written! Sometimes we use quinoa. Sometimes I am short on time and put the peppers in raw, but they are delicious roasted. My daughter loves to take it to school for lunch the next day!
Thanks Sarah!! I’m so happy to hear it! I like it with raw peppers in a pinch, too!
Absolutely delicious! Adding this to my summer/early fall salad recipes. My entire family loved it.
Thanks Karen!!
I’ve made this twice now. The first time I used The Fargo and the second time I used barley.
They were both equally good.
This is an excellent recipe and although you could substitute whatever you have in your refrigerator, it is perfect as written. Thank you.
Oops that should be farro
Thank you Rhoda! I have actually tried it with barley, too. I like that farro is has a chewier texture but they are both delicious! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
what the heck is this doing in the middle of a list of recipes? Plus the English is poor and misspelled………….
Typing errors, and I mistakenly put it in here
Typing errors, and I mistakenly put it in here. Sorry!! But check out my blog, I made some corrections
I made this for a family gathering and even my most fussy eater, loved this salad. We all loved it!
So happy to hear that!! Thanks, Sharon!!
This looks fabulous! Definitely going to be trying this in the coming weeks. Thanks!
Look so fresh and delicious!
Thanks for sharing! I love salads and can always use a nice variation! The Farro looks so much like Quinoa. Is there a big difference?
Farro is a larger grain than quinoa and has a chewier texture. I actually prefer it to quinoa but curious to know what you think!
Hi, really loved your delicious greek grain salad recipe 🙂
Further, I would like to extend an invitation to the upcoming Blog Contest Aug 2017 to you. Would love to get a post from you. You can find the details at the below link –
https://bloggerspara.blogspot.in/2017/07/blog-contest-august-2017.html
Hoping for a positive reply 🙂
What fresh herbs would you add if they were growing in your backyard? ?
I would try mint or basil!
Yummy!
Looks amazing ?
Love this recipe!
Hi. Please do visit my blog. I’m just starting. Hope to see you there ?
Seems so amazing yet it’s also quite a challenge for me T_T
Looks so good I can barely wait to try it!
Great post, thanks for sharing ???
I gotta try this.
Also dealing with gluten issue. I’d go with quinoa – but has anyone tried it, or brown rice?
Loved this salad! Just subbed jarred roasted peppers—and added grilled chicken and voila a beautiful meal–Well done! Thanks Lidey!
Thanks, Kimberly. So glad you liked it!
A little disappointed, I did not love this salad. There were too many red peppers and the olives did not go well with the farrow.
You don’t really have to say that you know
Why would I not share my honest opinion after making the recipe? I have loved some of her recipes in the past but this one misses the mark in my Opinion.
Got to make this salad this weekend!
Yes! It’s great warm or at room temperature.
Can this be served cold?
This looks so good! My daughter has celiacs so I need to replace the farrow. Would you recommend brown rice or quinoa? Would I need to increase the dressing amount with either of those?
Thank you!
I made it with quinoa. Fantastic.
Such a lovely salad! This is quite perfect after binging on lasagna the other day. 😀
^_^ Thanks and kudos to a great post
Very yummy. Making me kinda Hungry