Farro With Blistered Tomatoes, Pesto and Spinach

Updated Feb. 16, 2024

Farro With Blistered Tomatoes, Pesto and Spinach
Julia Gartland for The New York Times (Photography and Styling)
Total Time
40 minutes
Rating
5(5,868)
Notes
Read community notes

Here is an Italian-inspired recipe that uses store-bought or homemade pesto to season farro, which is then tossed with fresh spinach, roasted tomatoes, red onions and mozzarella for a complete vegetarian meal. Make it with fresh-from-the-market cherry tomatoes when they’re in season, but during the rest of the year, use grape tomatoes, as they tend to be more flavorful than cherry during the colder months. If you’d like, substitute arugula, or cooked broccoli rabe or kale, for the spinach. It tastes delicious warm or cold the next day — and topping it with shrimp, chicken or scallops can make it feel new again. Before reheating, add a bit more spinach, drizzle it with a little olive oil and give it a good stir.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 1cup farro, rinsed
  • 2pints cherry or grape tomatoes
  • 1small red onion, peeled, quartered and cut into 1-inch wedges
  • 2tablespoons olive oil, plus more for the farro
  • ½teaspoon red-pepper flakes
  • ¼cup store-bought or homemade pesto, plus more to taste
  • Zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • 2packed cups baby spinach
  • 1(4-ounce) ball fresh mozzarella, torn into chunks, or ½ cup ricotta salata, crumbled (optional)
  • ¼cup fresh flat-leaf parsley or basil leaves and tender stems, roughly chopped
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

398 calories; 20 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 44 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 16 grams protein; 742 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Bring a large covered pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add the farro and adjust the heat to maintain a medium boil. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom, until tender and not too chewy, about 30 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile, on a sheet pan, combine the tomatoes and onion wedges with the oil, making sure everything is well coated and glistening, then season with salt, pepper and the red-pepper flakes. Roast until the tomatoes blister and slightly deflate, 25 to 30 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    When the farro is done, drain, then pour into a serving bowl or back into the pot. Toss with some olive oil, then mix in the pesto. Add the lemon zest and juice, then stir in the spinach. Set aside to cool slightly.

  4. Step 4

    Scrape the onions, tomatoes and their juices into the farro; season with salt and pepper as needed. Add the cheese, if using, then garnish with herbs and serve.

Ratings

5 out of 5
5,868 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

Never used farro before, and this was a great introduction! I found 10-minute farro at Trader Joe’s and it cut down the overall cooking time. Made exactly to recipe, and I added a splash of balsamic vinegar at the end because the mozzarella, basil & tomatoes were practically begging for it. Will be adding to my rotation.

This is so delicious! A couple of notes: -Don't bring a whole pot of water to boil for the farro. If you're making 1 cup, like the recipe calls for, just bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Then, when the water cooks off, the farro will be done. -I added a bulb of fennel to the sheet pan of tomatoes and onions and it was delicious!

This works *much better* if the farro is cooked in a pot of water like noodles, not simmered like rice. Cooking in more water lets you get it to the right grainy taste and chewiness without gunking it up. Simmering it until the water boils off results in a pasty texture.

I recently discovered that cherry tomatoes freeze well and can be kept in virtually any kind of container. The frozen tomatoes are useful if everything else is available in the pantry or refrigerator and saves a trip to the store. Obviously they would probably take longer to roast.

I was not prepared for the prep and cooking time - feels like this should take 30 mins or so. But with prep, it was more like an hour before dinner was on the table.

Didn’t have mozzarella so I used leftover feta, which added some sharper flavor

This was incredible!! Made to a T and wouldn’t change a thing. Shocking, right?

Loved this recipe. Been using Farro for a few years now. Sam: farro has twice the amount of protein of either white or brown rice. It's one of the best super grains. I pressure cook with broth for 11 minutes. Delicious!

Wait till it cools down a bit before adding the spinach and arugula so the greens maintain some of their integrity. A little freshly grated imported Pecorino Romano on top....Boom! What a delicious meal! Don’t forget the crusty bread!

add balsamic at end

Amazing! Very acid forward, which I love, but reduce lemon juice or taste as you add if that’s not your thing. I doubled the recipe for two hungry athletes and subbed broth for water. Didn’t bother draining since my farro took up most of the liquid, and it made it just a touch heartier.

I made this exactly as written and even my husband, the reluctant vegetarian, had seconds. I’ll serve it with grilled sausages on the side next time I make this. This is going in my rotation. Pesto can be frozen (mine was) for those not in the know.

Delicious. Based on other comments here, I tweaked slightly: 1. Added an extra onion + mild Italian sausages to the sheet pan. The sausages needed an extra ten minutes in the oven. 2. Omitted the olive oil in Step 3 (the pesto/veg were wet enough). 3. Feta instead of mozzarella.

Love this recipe!! I tried this with kale but wanted to soften it a bit, so I threw it in with the boiling farro for last 5 minutes and drained these together. Also, I tend to not like things too oily, so I skipped adding olive oil, as the oil in the pesto was plenty for me.

Delicious! I used TJ's farro which cooks in about 12 minutes, and therefore started with Step 2 and everything was done in 30 minutes. This may be the first time I've ever made this statement in my life, but I thought it was just as good without the cheese.

Better to boil the farro like you would French green lentils…this results in distinct, al dente grains. Cooking in vegetable broth also adds a depth of flavor to the dish.

I cup of farro should be cooked in 3 cups of liquid. Chicken stock makes all the difference, but using 1 cup of apple cider [or juice] and 2 cups stock brings the farro alive in spectacular ways.

I discovered farro mostly after seeing how perfectly (and easily) it cooks in an Instant Pot. I think you could either roast the onions and tomatoes in the oven as directed, or just sauté them in the Instant Pot then set aside. I know the spinach etc will wilt perfectly with a big stir at the end and you could add the other veggies then no matter how you cook them. Sounds like this could be a wonderful weeks’s worth of lunches, sometimes served over hearty salad greens.

Works well as a brunch item by topping each serving with a poached egg and some avocado slices (seared halloumi cheese works well too and adds a nice salty bite).

This is sooo delicious!!! I have made it multiple times and it’s a winner every time! I made it with gluten free pasta for a friend and it was fantastic as a pasta also. A winner for sure!

This is good and adaptable. I had mushrooms that needed to be used and roasted them with tomatoes and shallots (what I had instead of red onion). All delicious. This is a side or a meal if there are 2 of you. I would add more protein if I had some on hand. I added more spinach so that it was more of a salad. The lemon makes it and I had some crumbly sheep's milk cheese that worked well.

Cooked with sun dried tomatoes and broccoli and it was fantastic.

Scrumptious. Even my carnivorous husband liked it. The only change I made was to use half the amount of pesto.

Didn’t have spinach but wilted baby kale instead and topped with freshly grated Parmesan and cracked black pepper. New favorite!

I added spicy Italian sausage and shredded Italian cheese for better mixing!

Outstanding flavors and flexible for my non meat eating family. Made “as is” but can easily see varying the veggies depending upon seasonal availability. Great recipe!

So easy and delicious. Perfect for a busy summer weeknight meal like tonight. Minimal prep (peeling, chopping etc), most of the actual cooking time requires very little attention (especially if you can get your hands on Trader Joe’s 10 minute farro - and the finished dish comes with maximal reward.

Amazing!! Also used TJ 10 minute farro, worked great. Highly recommend doubling for 4 actual servings, this recipe fed me and my spouse with barely any leftovers. Also, top with toasted almonds! Swoon!

I made this as I was looking for a meatless dish for dinner. I halved the recipe for myself and my husband. It was delicious and really filling. I was curious about the lemon juice but found it really added flavor and acid. Very easy to make. I would recommend for a main dish and or a side dish maybe with grilled steak.

This is delicious! You can alter it in many ways and it's still excellent. I omitted the cheese and used some curly parsley to garnish. I also used a store bought kale and basil pesto. You can easily eat this without a protein but certainly would go well with chicken or beef or even shrimp. Very versatile - can be eaten alone for lunch or as a side for dinner or full meal with a protein. Love it!

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