Mediterranean Farro Salad

Serve warm or cold Mediterranean farro salad as a side dish or entree, or prepare it for the best weekday lunches. This Mediterranean farro salad is a unique version of a vegan Greek salad!

Lately, I've been crazy for farro. So, today, I made a Mediterranean farro salad for dinner. Although fall is almost here, the temperatures in Arizona are still in the triple digits. Even though we eat salad often, I wanted to make a hearty entree salad to satisfy everyone. And this Mediterranean farro salad recipe checked all the boxes.

Jump to:

• What is Farro?
• How to Cook Farro
• What is Yondu?
• Salad Ingredients
• Salad Ingredient Substitutions
• How to Make the Salad
• Recipe FAQs
• Tips
• 📖 Recipe

Farro is a staple of Mediterranean cooking. Easy to prepare, farro's nutty flavor and chewy texture make it versatile and adaptable for various recipes. Served hot or cold, farro is a very satisfying and filling grain.

What is Farro?

Farro, a high-protein, high-fiber ancient whole-grain wheat, looks similar to barley, with a slightly more oblong and larger grain. Like barley, farro retains a notable amount of chew when it gets cooked. Therefore, farro and barley can be used interchangeably in most recipes. However, farro is a wheat product and contains gluten, so if you are gluten-free, see the ingredient substitutions for this Mediterranean farro salad recipe.

How to Cook Farro

• Use a fine mesh strainer and rinse the farro under cold water to remove any dust or participles from packaging and processing.
• Add 2 cups of water and 1 ½ Tablespoons of Yondu to a pot.
• Bring it to a boil, and then add the rinsed farro.
• Bring the water back to a boil, then lower the heat to medium, so it maintains a fast simmer.
• Simmer uncovered, occasionally stirring, for 30 minutes until tender.
• Then, drain the farro in a fine mesh strainer a second time.
• Allow to cool completely, and transfer to a container to chill in the refrigerator.

What is Yondu?

Yondu is a versatile savory seasoning that brings out the inherent flavor of your ingredients.

Non-GMO and organic soybeans are slowly fermented in three stages to bring out savory flavors. First, this base is blended with the concentrated broth of eight vegetables to balance and add delicate complexity.

So, instead of using vegetable broth, Yondu is mixed with water to create similar flavors without the expense of vegetable broth.

Salad Ingredients

• Cooked Farro: Farro tastes complex, with a nutty taste with undertones of oats and barley. 
• Red Onions: Red onions are sweet and tangy. They are often used in Mediterranean cooking.
• English Cucumber: English cucumbers contain less water and fewer seeds than regular cucumbers.
• Parsley: Parsley provides a fresh, earthy, green freshness to the farro salad.
• Grape Tomatoes: Grape tomatoes are the size of grapes. They are naturally bite-sized and contain fewer seeds.
• Dill: Fresh dill tastes earthy and fresh. It provides a freshness to the salad.
• Roasted Beets: I used precooked roasted beets from Trader Joe's and cut them into bite-sized pieces.
• Chickpeas: Chickpeas taste quite like beans, considering they're legumes themselves. Most people compare their flavor to cannellini and pinto beans because they're starchy. However, they also have an earthy taste with nutty undertones.
• Kalamata Olives: Kalamata olives are salty and flavorful compared to other olives.
• Banana Peppers: Banana peppers have a sweet, mild taste, and they're about five times milder than the average jalapeno.
• Red Wine Vinegar: Red wine vinegar is made from red wine. This means that the secondary flavor is fruit. Of all the kinds of vinegar, red wine vinegar tends to be punchier, with a more vibrant grape flavor.
• Lemon: I prefer using fresh lemon juice whenever possible.
• Water: The water acts as an emulsifier.
• Salt/Pepper: Salt and pepper enhance the flavors of the salad.
• Tofu Feta Cheese (Optional): I make my own tofu feta cheese. It adds a creaminess and salty component to the salad. It is optional.

Salad Ingredient Substitutions

• If you want a gluten-free substitute, sorghum, brown rice, or oat groats will all make suitable replacements in most recipes.
• The best substitutes for farro are spelt berries, freekeh, wheat berries, whole grain barley, or cracked wheat.
• Choose green onions for a lighter onion flavor.
• Try Persian cucumbers, which also have fewer seeds than regular cucumbers.
• Use cherry tomatoes or Roma tomatoes instead of grape tomatoes.
• White beans are often substituted for chickpeas.
• Regular black olives are an excellent substitute for kalamata olives.
• White or balsamic vinegar works well when you don't have red wine vinegar.
• Pepperoncini peppers are hotter than banana peppers but are often substituted in recipes.
• Choose bottled lemon juice when fresh lemon juice isn't available.
• Several brands of tofu feta cheese products are available for sale in the healthy section of the grocery store.

How to Make the Salad

• Prepare the farro following the provided instructions. All to cool completely, and then transfer to a refrigerator to chill.
• Place the chilled farro on a platter as a base.
• Then, add and layer all the remaining ingredients on top of the farro.
• Combine the lemon juice, zest, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and water for the dressing. Whisk together and pour over the salad ingredients on the platter.

• Serve with tofu feta cheese as a topping if desired.
• Store the salad, dressed, in a refrigerator safe, covered container for up to 5 days.

Recipe FAQs

Tips

• Rinse the farro in cold water in a fine mesh strainer before cooking.
• Cook the farro uncovered in water mixed with Yondu or vegetable broth to give it additional flavor.
• Make the farro ahead of time to allow it to cool and chill before making the Mediterranean farro salad.
• Use canned, steamed, or pre-roasted beets as a time saver.
• Because dried herbs are often more potent and concentrated than fresh herbs, you need less. That means the correct ratio is one tablespoon of fresh herbs to one teaspoon of dried herbs.

Try this unique Mediterranean farro salad, hot or cold, for a side dish, entree, or weekday lunch. The flavors are incredible!

If you love this Mediterranean farro salad recipe, give us a 5-star review and comment below. We would love to hear from you.

📖 Recipe