Fall Farro Salad

Written By Shirley TEMPLE
 

Meet the seasonal autumn salad you never knew you wanted and needed. It’s warming, crunchy, tangy, with a hint of bitter and a note of sweet. At the bottom of the recipe, you will find ingredients substitution suggestions!

Ingredients:

  • Butternut squash *

  • Farro (I like to keep a bag of the 10min farro from Trader Joe’s or WF on hand - so easy! Find in the grain/legume section with the rice, quinoa, etc)

  • Kale and/or spinach

  • Dried cranberries

  • Sprouted Pumpkin seeds (I love Go Raw)

  • Goat cheese

  • Thin sliced shallots (1-3)

  • Fresh herbs, chopped (I suggest a mix of mint, dill and parsley)

  • Cumin, onion salt, dried garlic


Dressing:

  • Red wine vinegar

  • Lemon

  • Olive oil

  • Dijon mustard, about a small spoonful

  • Salt and Pepper

Soak and cook farro according to package directions, leaning more towards al dente than overcooked/mushy. Let cool slightly

Peel and cube butternut squash (or buy already prepped to save time and perhaps a finger. Please have sharp knives!!!) Peel and grossly slice the shallots lengthwise. Mix both with avocado oil, salt, pepper, cumin, onion salt and garlic, spread on a baking sheet and roast at 400 F until golden and tender when poked with a fork. Let cool slightly.

While the squash is roasting, de-stem and chop the kale. Massage with lemon juice or olive oil until the fibers have started to break down and kale feels much more tender.

Mix all dressing ingredients with whisk or fork. I do not give quantities here as it’s personal. However, a typical oil based dressing will have a 2:1 oil to acid (vinegar or citrus) ratio. I like my dressings very tangy so often will even do a 1:1 ratio. Play around! Taste as you go!

Place all salad ingredients in a large bowl and combine with dressings. Again, taste! It probably needs salt and pepper. Maybe more olive oil. Maybe some lemon. Maybe more herbs. You do you boo.

 

*NOTE: be flexible! If you don’t have :

  • butternut -> try delicata, honeynut, acorn squashes or even sweet potatoes!

  • farro -> quinoa, buckwheat, israeli/pearled couscous, forbidden rice

  • goat cheese -> try feta or vegan goat cheese (if you don’t want dairy)

  • pumpkin seeds -> try sunflower seeds, chopped roasted almonds, hemp seeds

  • shallots -> try red onion

  • dried cranberries -> raisins or fresh chopped crisp apple

  • red wine vinegar -> apple cider vinegar

Shirley TEMPLE
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