I mentioned a little while ago that I am trying to incorporate more whole grains into my diet so last week I made a trip to Whole Foods and picked up some farro and wheatberries. I had never cooked with either before so I thought it would be fun to experiment. I saw this salad and thought it looked good. I am not the biggest fan of bell peppers so I replaced them with sun dried tomatoes and since I didn't have any walnuts on hand, I used pine nuts. The real star in this excellent salad was the roasted cauliflower. The roasting brought out this rich, nutty flavor that I could not get enough of. There are a fair amount of ingredients in this salad, but they all work so well together. The dressing doesn't use any oil (there is oil from the sun dried tomatoes and the roasted cauliflower, plus, I forgot it, haha) and it's nice and light. The creamy feta works well with the chickpeas, crunchy pine nuts and chewy farro. I gobbled this down for lunch two days in a row. My only complaint (and it is not much of a complaint) is that I didn't read the instructions for cooking farro before I went to prepare this. You have to soak the farro for eight hours before you cook it (at least, according to my package). If you end up with the same problem, put the farro in water before you go to work and it will be ready by the time you get home!
My fundraising efforts continue, thank you to those who have contributed already!
Roasted Cauliflower and Farro Salad
(Adapted from Closet Cooking)
Makes 2 servings
1/2 bunch cauliflower, cut into florets
1-2 teaspoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup sliced sundried tomatoes
1/2 of a 15 oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup farro, cooked according to package instructions
1 shallot, chopped
2 tablepoons crumbled feta
2 tablespoons toasted pinenuts
1 1/2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
On a baking sheet lined with foil, toss the cauliflower with the oil and season with salt and pepper until well coated. Roast for 20-30 minutes until golden.
In a large bowl, mix the roasted cauliflower with the tomatoes, chickpeas, farro, shallot, pine nuts, feta and half of the feta.
In a small bowl, mix together the vinegar and lemon juice and season lightly with salt and peppper. Add the dressing to the salad mixture and toss well to combine. Serve warm, garnished with extra parsley.
15 comments:
hmm chickpeas, veggies, and cheese- yes please! This post is reminding me that I need to go back to WFs and pick up some quality grains. I hate the selection at my regular food store!
I think if I worked in your office I might want to steal your lunch!
Any vegetable that's roasted is The Best!
I remember seeing this on Kevin's site too, and immediately bookmarked it. Thanks for reminding me, I love your spin on it!
I've never roasted cauliflower because I thought it was just so bland to begin with, why bother. But if you say a nutty flavor comes out after roasting, then I believe you and now want to try it.
Cauliflower and chickpeas are two of my favorites, this looks really good. I will have to give roasted cauliflower a try.
sounds like a great combination - flavors and textures!
cheers,
*heather*
i would like to add more whole grans to my diet, too - and haven't ever really tried farro. i tried wheatberry and wasn't a big fan. but with the flavor and texture of cauliflower, this sounds delicious! i'll have to give farro a go!
I've eye-d this recipe for awhile, and love your adaptation!! even sought out the farro :)
I love roasted cauliflower so I am excited to this.
Erica, yes, I don't make it to WF's often, but there are some great buys
Diana, how bout I just make you extra :)
Dawn, roasted cauliflower is soooooo good.
Heather, I actually liked the texture of the farro. It's quite different from quinoa which I am more used to, but for me different in a good way :)
This sounds like a great combination!
I like to make stuff like this to have for lunch at work. Beats having a boring ol sandwich!
Your roasted cauliflower farro salad looks great! I was thinking that sun dried tomatoes would go well.
I've never cooked with farro. In fact, I'm not really sure what it looks like. Looks like Barley when cooked; what does it taste like?
Post a Comment