Farro and Chickpea Salad

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Farro and Chickpea Salad is a delicious and healthy grain bowl that is perfect for warmer days when you don’t want to eat anything hot. Affiliate links have been used to link to items I am discussing in this post.

Admit it, before I get started on food you all want to see pictures of the puppy. And if you don’t, well, like I have said before hit that jump to recipe button (also I might be concerned with your mental well being because, well, puppy).

Skadi is doing well; most of her accidents have been in some way our fault (for example, not taking her out because it was storming when I knew she would need to go). She likes food more than Skamp does–and thank goodness because training him was awful because he did not care about food as a reward. On the other hand, she is not an insane vacuum cleaner like my Chessies were.  She settles right down at night in her kennel next to my bed and wakes us up if she needs to go out. Basically she is perfect. In all ways.

I did promise you guys some grain salads though so let’s get started. I loved this Farro and Chickpea Salad, with its bright, lemony overtones. My only complaint is that as much as I love chickpeas in salads I admit that eating them can be a trial. Do you get frustrated trying to spear lettuce and chickpeas at the same time? And if not, what are you doing differently????

This was only the second meal we made in the new kitchen, and the only individual serving bowl I had available for photography, the one used in the pasta salad, was too small for this dish. So paper plates it was–and I figured since they are white, they still show the dish pretty well. And I did have a serving bowl at least. So if you are wondering what gives with the paper plate, that is the explanation.

This Farro and Chickpea Salad was quite good before I added the Ariston Sicilian Lemon Infused White Balsamic Vinegar; after I added that it was amazing. I bought it locally and unfortunately I do not see it at Amazon. Other Sicilian lemon vinegar is available at Amazon but they are different brands (still usually white balsamic vinegar though). If you try any of them be sure to report back and let us know how they are–and if you see the Ariston I highly recommend it. Additional lemon zest and some white balsamic might also work in a pinch.

I actually decided while eating the leftovers of this salad that the dried fruit was optional. It was delicious in the salad, but I also loved it without it. We ate this as a main salad but it could certainly also be a side dish–the only one needed–to grilled chicken or something like that. Either way it is a great summer dish as it is served room temperature or even chilled out of the refrigerator.

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Farro and Chickpea Salad

I always say this and still cannot emphasize it enough, especially with a salad: Adjust to taste at the end-I like my dressings super tart, you might not, in which case add more oil. Swap out various garnishes and salad components to whatever sounds good to you. I use lentils in addition to chickpeas because they have more protein.

Course: Entree, entree salad

Cuisine: salad

Keyword: chickpeas, farro, legumes, lentils, vegetarian

Ingredients

For the grain-legume mixture:

• 1 T extra virgin olive oil
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 2 T garlic paste (or minced)
• 1 T (scant) ginger paste (or minced ginger)
• 1 t fresh chile pepper paste
• 1 1/2 cups semi-pearled farro
• 1/2 cup brown or green lentils (the kind that will hold their shape)
• Drizzle of cider vinegar, to taste
• Salt to taste
• 2 cups chopped multi colored bell peppers (green, red, orange and yellow-use whatever appeals)
• 2 15-oz cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained

For the dressing:

• zest of 1 lemon
• juice of 1/2 large juicy lemon
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 t whole grain mustard
• 1 t honey, to taste
• 2 T Sicilian lemon vinegar (made with white balsamic vinegar)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

For the salad:

• Arugula--2 handfuls per serving
• Mixed baby greens--2 handfuls per serving
• dried fruit of choice (I used sliced figs and tart cherries), optional
• crumbled goat cheese (Sammy liked this salad with feta as she does not care for goat cheese)

Instructions

1. Add the oil to a medium-large pot. When it is hot, add the onions, garlic, ginger and chile pepper paste. Cook briefly, a few minutes. Then add the farro and cover by at least 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer.

2. Let simmer for 5 minutes and then add the lentils. Make sure everything is still covered by 2 inches of water. Return to a simmer.

3. Let simmer for 15 minutes, or until lentils are tender and farro is chewy-tender. A few minutes before the end of cooking add 1 teaspoon of salt. When the farro and lentils are ready, drain.

4. Return the farro-lentil mix to the pot (off the heat) and drizzle with cider vinegar and taste for salt. Mix in the bell peppers and chickpeas. Set aside to cool.

Make the dressing while the farro cools:

1. Whisk together the lemon zest, lemon juice, cider vinegar, mustard, Sicilian lemon vinegar, honey and a pinch of salt and pepper.

2. Maintaining a brisk whisk of the vinegar mixture, drizzle the olive oil into the mixture while whisking. Add all of the oil until emulsified. Taste for more salt and pepper. Also taste to see if it is way too tart for you (I prefer tart) and add more oil if so. 

Assemble the salad:

1. Mix the baby greens and arugula. Place a few handfuls in the bottom of each serving bowl. 

2. Drizzle half of the dressing over the legume mixture and mix in.

3. Place several spoonfuls of the cooled legume mix over the greens. Sprinkle with dried fruit (if using) and goat cheese. Drizzle with dressing. Serve immediately.

4. The legume mixture will keep several days in the fridge for leftovers. Just reassemble the salad each time you serve so the greens do not get wilted.

Looking for a Farro and Chickpea Salad collage to pin?