Farro Salad With Roasted Veggies on Balsamic Pumpkin Oil Vinaigrette

by Kirsten on April 27, 2012 · 11 comments

in Main Dishes, Misc. Savory Dishes, Salads, Sides, Soups & Salads, Starters & Sides

With the warmer weather arriving here in Colorado, I like to leave the soups and stews behind and move on to nutritious and fresh salads served along side a perfectly  barbequed piece of meat.

The other night while checking my pantry I decided on a farro salad with roasted veggies on balsamic pumpkin oil vinaigrette. I am sure by now you are all familiar with Italian farro, a nutty tasting type of wheat, mostly used in soups and salads.

I mixed my cooked farro with roasted cauliflower, roasted asparagus and tomatoes, vegetables I had on hand, and added some garlic and scallions. For the dressing I fell back on my simple homemade balsamic vinaigrette with the addition of some pumpkin seed oil that I purchased last year while traveling through Austria. Pumpkin seed oil gives any vinaigrette a strong depth of a nutty and very unique taste.  I fell in love with pumpkin seed oil many years ago while traveling with my dad to Slovenia, There we were given a bottle of  homemade pumpkin seed oil by my dad’s friend’s family after a dinner invitation at their house. Unfortunately it is not a very commonly used oil in the US  and I have asked myself why, since you would assume that there should be plenty of pumpkin seeds leftover from the production of canned pumpkin puree. Don’t worry, pumpkin seed oil can be found in selected supermarkets and higher end food stores.

Mr. Rockies loved this farro salad with roasted veggies on balsamic pumpkin oil vinaigrette so much that he asked me right away to make sure to write down the recipe so it won’t get lost. This request speaks for a definite keeper recipe at our house.

I hope also you will give this farro salad with roasted veggies on balsamic pumpkin oil vinaigrette a try and enjoy it as much as we did.


Farro Salad With Roasted Veggies
5.0 from 2 reviews
Print
Recipe type: side dish, salad
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 1 cup (200 g) organic farro (or organic brown rice)
  • 1 smaller sized cauliflower, cleaned and cut in bite size pieces
  • 10 medium sized green asparagus stalks, cleaned and cut in bite size pieces
  • organic olive oil
  • 3 medium sized tomatoes, cut in bite size pieces
  • 4 scallions, chopped
  • 2 garlic gloves, minced
  • salt
  • pepper
  • ½ cup balsamic vinaigrette*
Instructions
  1. Cook farro following the package directions. Rinse with cold water and set aside.
  2. Place cauliflower and asparagus on a big baking sheet drizzle with olive oil and season with pepper and salt. Roast in the oven on 400 F for 20 minutes.
  3. In a big salad bowl mix farro, roasted vegetables, tomatoes, scallions, garlic, and vinaigrette.
  4. Season with pepper and salt.
  5. *balsamic vinaigrette recipe: ¼ cup (62.5 ml) good (sweet) balsamic vinegar, ½ cup 1 Tablespoon (140 ml) organic olive oil, 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) pumpkin seed oil. Mix (shake) all the ingredients in a marmalade jar.
Notes
This salad is very easy to prepare ahead and keep in the fridge. Make sure to add the tomatoes right before serving since they loose their flavor if refrigerated.

 

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

{ 11 comments }

Nuts about food May 3, 2012 at 3:04 am

Looks like this might be dinner tonight!

Susan April 30, 2012 at 7:55 am

Our weather has been rainy all weekend, so I’m not thinking outdoor picnics, but this looks so good and with our daughter visiting (she’s Vegan) I’m thinking of making this tonight with flatbread and having an indoor picnic. Your photos make me hungry!

The Wimpy Vegetarian April 29, 2012 at 7:02 pm

How funny – I posted a warm farro salad with spring veggies and balsamic tomatoes yesterday, so we were definitely on the same wavelength. I love your use of pumpkin oil in yours, and love how yours looks. I’m always looking for a good way to use it!

Crystal @ A Lovin' Forkful April 29, 2012 at 11:49 am

This looks so good! I’ve never tried farro, but I’ve always wanted to.

Liz April 29, 2012 at 5:33 am

Farro is my new favorite grain…and your salad looks incredible! Congrats on the Top 9 today!

Suzi April 29, 2012 at 4:46 am

Saw this on the Top9, Congrats to you. This looks fantastic, colorful and so healthy.

Susan April 28, 2012 at 4:40 pm

That looks delicious! We love roasted veggie salads especially when they are this colorful. Can’t believe I’ve never tried faro. Will change that soon.

manu April 28, 2012 at 5:13 am

Hi!! Farro salad that’s great!! One of my favourite summer dish.
Have a nice we

Lea Ann April 27, 2012 at 4:09 pm

What a beautiful salad Kirsten! With pizza for lunch two days this week, I really should be making this very soon. Gorgeous photos!

Toni @ Boulder Locavore April 27, 2012 at 1:37 pm

Looks gorgeous Kirsten! I too find as the weather turns warm what I enjoyed daily in the winter goes by the wayside. It’s always so exciting to have fresh vegetables again and this light dish would be a perfect lunch or dinner meal.

cristina b. April 27, 2012 at 1:24 pm

wow, this looks delicious (and healthy)!! today we finally had some nice and warm weather… if it stays so tomorrow, this salad will definitely be our lunch :)))
and farro is always in stock…

ps: heute habe ich zum ersten Mal einen Post auf Deutsch geschrieben… war auch Zeit!!
LG aus Milano

Comments on this entry are closed.

Previous post:

Next post: