Tag Archives: farro salad recipe

WHAT WE ATE ON THE PLANE

May 2, 2013

Filed Under : RECIPES - TRAVEL

When we flew to New York, I made sure to pack LOTS of food for the plane ride. Not necessarily because it was a long flight (5 hours from LA to NY), but because we had 9 days of travel ahead of us and WHO KNOWS what we’d be eating during that time (read: poutine, pizza, and a fair share of bloody mary’s).

In addition to a hefty plane meal, I also stuffed my carry-on with healthy snacks so we could nibble on things during the trip. I don’t know about you but one of my biggest fears in life is being hungry in between meals #firstworldproblems. Here’s what I packed:

Mixed Nuts: I love the individually wrapped packets of trail mix from Trader Joe’s.

Granola: I had plans to make homemade granola but brought this delish TJ’s variety instead. And bonus: it’s packed with fiber and is gluten free.

Apples & almond butter: This is my absolute favorite snack combo. Also, I have a weird relationship with apples. I can’t live without them? So I brought a whole bag of mini-sized gala apples (like 7 apples) in my carry-on. And YEAH, I’m sure New York had apples I could buy but I COULDN’T RISK IT.

Bean dip w/ veggies: I got this whole idea to pack a healthy travel meal from this amazing blog post. I used her recipe for white bean dip, which was beyond delicious and full of protein. The carrots and cucumber sticks were great to snack on throughout the flight.

Farro salad w/ beets, sweet potatoes, and arugula: Now here’s where I REALLY packed in the health. This was our main meal for the flight to New York (FYI i packed 2 full ziploc bags of this salad – the mason jar was just my midnight snack). I roasted sweet potatoes and mixed it with cooked farro, beets, arugula, and chopped raw walnuts. For the dressing, I made a simple apple cider vinaigrette (the same one I used in this recipe). It keeps great at room temperature for a few hours.

Everything worked out pretty smoothly in the end aside from the fact that I made WAY TOO MUCH food for the plane ride. Next time, I will make half as much and maybe not bring a pound of apples?

Farro Salad w/ Radishes, Cucumbers, & Feta

April 4, 2012

Filed Under : EAT - RECIPES

farro salad

I have a major crush on farro right now, you guys.  It’s a healthy whole grain packed with fiber and protein.  I know this because I tweeted at Cooking Light magazine and they told me so.  They said to look for “whole” farro on the label.  Oh, technology!!

Anyway, I tend to make salads with a high ratio of whole grains in them because I’m not a big lettuce person.  I know, who isn’t a lettuce person?  Well, this lady isn’t.  I use anything from quinoa to bulgur to my current favorite, farro, and I use a whole lot of it.

I recently concocted this salad and love it so dang much that I plan on concocting it for the rest of my life.  It seems like a pretty straight forward salad but the flavors pack a punch, let me tell you.  The farro has a nutty, chewy taste and just absorbs the vinaigrette so perfectly.  The radishes add a juicy crunch and the arugula brings in a peppery undertone.  Don’t even get me started on the feta.  I was really tempted to pour the entire container of feta into the salad but I resisted.

Also, it holds up really well and just gets better the longer it marinates in the vinaigrette…aka a great make-ahead salad for parties and packed lunches.  Amen to this salad.  AMEN.

farro salad

Farro Salad with Radishes, Cucumber, & Feta
roughly 4-5 servings
1 cup uncooked farro
1 bunch radishes, quartered
1/2 cucumber, diced
handful of arugula
1/2 cup (or however much you want!) crumbled feta cheese

Lemon Vinaigrette
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

To cook the farro, combine 1 cup of uncooked farro with 2.5 cups water in a medium saucepan. Add salt to the water and bring it to a boil.  Once boiled, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes, covered.  Once cooked, it will have a slightly chewy texture.  Drain out the water and scoop it into a mixing bowl.

I usually pop the farro in the fridge while I’m chopping the veggies because I don’t like my salads to be too warm.  Once it reaches room temp, add the radishes, cucumbers, arugula and feta into the mixing bowl.  To make the vinaigrette, whisk together the lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, and S&P until it’s completely emulsified.  Pour over the farro salad and mix well.  At this point, you can eat the salad right then and there.  OR, you can put it in the fridge and allow it to marinate in all it’s goodness.  Either way, prepare to be become best friends with farro.