Farro Salad With Tomatoes and Romano Beans
- Total Time
- About 15 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 2cups cooked farro
- ¾pound tomatoes, diced, or cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 1tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2tablespoons cider vinegar or sherry vinegar
- 1 to 2teaspoons Dijon mustard (to taste)
- 1small garlic clove, minced or puréed
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- ¼cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½pound romano beans, trimmed and cut in 2-inch lengths
- 2 to 4tablespoons chopped fresh basil or parsley, or a combination
- 2ounces goat cheese, crumbed (optional)
Preparation
- Step 1
In a large bowl combine the farro and tomatoes.
- Step 2
Whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Toss with the farro and tomatoes and set aside.
- Step 3
Bring a pot of water to a boil, and fill a bowl with ice water. When the water comes to a boil, add a generous amount of salt and add the green beans. Cook 4 to 5 minutes, until just tender. Transfer to the ice water, then drain. Dry on paper towels.
- Step 4
Shortly before serving, add the beans to the farro mixture, along with the chopped herbs. Toss together, taste and adjust seasoning. Sprinkle the goat cheese over the top and serve.
- Advance preparation: The salad can be prepared through Step 3 and refrigerated several hours before serving.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
I have been testing recipes for hearty picnic salads for years; finally, this is it! No romano beans available, so I used fresh green beans, and a mild Bulgarian feta. My husband and a 20-year old male guest loved this salad. No leftovers. Extremely embarrassing disclosure: I accidentally dropped 1/2 C. toasted pine nuts, meant for another dish, into the boiling water for the farro. So this became a farro and boiled pine nut salad. Thank you, All Things Considered, for the distraction.
I have made this twice since my first post, with toasted (not boiled!) pine nuts. I would suggest adding less than the recommended amount of dressing before tasting it. This salad also holds up very well in the refrigerator for several days: The beans do darken a bit, but the salad just gets better and better.
This has been the summer of Martha Rose Shulman's salads for our family and this was another winner. I soaked the farro overnight so they only needed a ten minute boil while I assembled the other ingredients. Loved the mustardy viniagrette with the farro. We added some roasted walnuts on top for crunch and called it a meal. Also used green beans and feta.
Thank you for the inspiring combination of farro, beans and tomatoes. I changed the dressing though. I roasted the tomatoes in little oil, balsamic and S/P, in the oven, half an hour, almost caramelised . I sautéed the beans with garlic and 2 anchovies, in a covered pan, for quite a long time ( be courageous, the beans reach another dimension when cooked for long ). Then I dress the cooked farro with all the yummy juices left by both vegetables . Basil and feta cheese on top.
I added the entire batch of dressing to the farro and thought it was way too much. So, like another commenter I'd recommend adding the dressing gradually and to taste.
A really lovely, simple summer salad, alhough I was thrilled to discover Romano beans still at the farmstand in early October. I love farro, and adding the dressing to the warm farro was wonderfully fragrant, although I should have known not to use it all. Used sherry vinegar, which I recommend, and also topped with feta, as others did. Martha's recipes are always reliable, simple, and dependable.
I love this salad! I think it would taste great with a little red onion. Personally I like it with the recommended amount of dressing, it kind of merges with the goat cheese if you stir it all up and it tastes great!
Add dressing gradually- may be too much
I made this as is (except for using mini string beans instead of romano) for a potluck, and it was a huge hit! The leftovers were great, too. Will definitely make it again!
Amen to having a light hand with the dressing, or, rather, the oil in it, which ought to be closer to 1/8 cup. Made nearly as written, except for adding julienned sundried tomatoes and serving plain ol' green beans on the side.
This recipe is absolutely delicious! I used farmer’s market cherry tomatoes (.75 lbs was a heaping pint, for those wondering!), Romano beans (which I had never had, nor heard of, before, but love them!), and crumbled feta. It was so easy to put together — luckily, I remembered to cook the farro - whole spelt berries) earlier in the day, which is important to cut down the time. What a perfect expression of summer on a plate!
This was great but agree with other posters that it's way too much dressing. I used about half and it was delish!
I couldn’t find Romero beans and used green beans instead. Also used an Asiago/Parm mix instead of goat cheese. It was delicious. I added two fried eggs on top the next day for breakfast, which was also extremely satisfying.
A really lovely, simple summer salad, alhough I was thrilled to discover Romano beans still at the farmstand in early October. I love farro, and adding the dressing to the warm farro was wonderfully fragrant, although I should have known not to use it all. Used sherry vinegar, which I recommend, and also topped with feta, as others did. Martha's recipes are always reliable, simple, and dependable.
Thank you for the inspiring combination of farro, beans and tomatoes. I changed the dressing though. I roasted the tomatoes in little oil, balsamic and S/P, in the oven, half an hour, almost caramelised . I sautéed the beans with garlic and 2 anchovies, in a covered pan, for quite a long time ( be courageous, the beans reach another dimension when cooked for long ). Then I dress the cooked farro with all the yummy juices left by both vegetables . Basil and feta cheese on top.
I added the entire batch of dressing to the farro and thought it was way too much. So, like another commenter I'd recommend adding the dressing gradually and to taste.
This has been the summer of Martha Rose Shulman's salads for our family and this was another winner. I soaked the farro overnight so they only needed a ten minute boil while I assembled the other ingredients. Loved the mustardy viniagrette with the farro. We added some roasted walnuts on top for crunch and called it a meal. Also used green beans and feta.
Discovering faro! Very tasty--only one TBSP cider vinegar, one tsp. Dijon mustard, and feta cheese. Early peas in pods, briefly steamed.
I have made this twice since my first post, with toasted (not boiled!) pine nuts. I would suggest adding less than the recommended amount of dressing before tasting it. This salad also holds up very well in the refrigerator for several days: The beans do darken a bit, but the salad just gets better and better.
I have been testing recipes for hearty picnic salads for years; finally, this is it! No romano beans available, so I used fresh green beans, and a mild Bulgarian feta. My husband and a 20-year old male guest loved this salad. No leftovers. Extremely embarrassing disclosure: I accidentally dropped 1/2 C. toasted pine nuts, meant for another dish, into the boiling water for the farro. So this became a farro and boiled pine nut salad. Thank you, All Things Considered, for the distraction.
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