Mediterranean Farro Salad with Chickpeas and Arugula
A delicious and flavourful Mediterranean Farro Salad recipe with arugula, Calabrian spiced chickpeas, crisp pickled onions, olives and feta. Drizzled with a simple red wine vinaigrette. A satiating and elevated dinner salad to please a crowd!
Servings 6
Calories 447kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup farro (uncooked)
- 1.5 tbsp + 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- ⅓ cup pickled red onions (*see notes below on how to do a quick pickle if needed)
- 1 can chickpeas strained and rinsed
- 2 tsp Calabrian chili paste
- pinch sea salt
- 1/2 cup pine nuts
- ½ large english cucumber , sliced into quarters, then chopped
- 1 bell pepper chopped
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes , sliced into quarters
- 2 handfuls arugula
- 1/2 cup flat leaf parsley , tightly packed and finely chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh oregano finely chopped (or 1/2 tsp dried)
- ½ cup vegan feta
- ½ black Kalamata olives chopped
Red Wine Vinaigrette:
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ⅓ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 clove Garlic minced
- 1 tsp fresh Oregano finely chopped (or ¼ tsp dried)
- 1 tsp Dijon
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- sea salt Pinch
- Pepper Pinch
Instructions
- Toast the dry farro in a saucepan on the stove top with 1.5 tbsp olive oil, until it smells nutty and they’re making a light popping noise, 5-7 minutes. Add the broth, bring to a simmer. Cook the farro until puffed and pleasantly chewy, about 25 mins. Transfer to a large plate, and let cool.
- While the farro cooks, now is a good time to do a quick pickle of the red onions if needed, and to chop all your veggies and herbs.
- Toss the chickpeas in chili paste and 2 tsp olive oil to lightly coat, and a pinch of sea salt. Set aside.
- Toast the pine nuts in a skillet on medium low heat until golden and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Let cool.
- Prepare the red wine vinaigrette: in a jar combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, oregano, dijon, maple syrup, salt and pepper. Give it a good shake to combine.
- In a large mixing bowl add the cooled farro, chopped english cucumber, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, arugula, parsley, oregano, feta and olives. Sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts (optional to set aside some pine nuts and feta for sprinkling at the end).
- Drizzle the salad with the red wine vinaigrette and toss to combine. Transfer to a large salad bowl or serving platter Sprinkle with remaining pine nuts and feta and serve.
Notes
For the quick pickle red onions: Soak red onion slices in a jar with red wine vinegar and a pinch of salt for 10 minutes to remove the harsh bite. It’s easy to do this at the beginning of the recipe before you chop all the vegetables. Then it will be ready for assembly time! Or, follow my recipe for crispy pickled red onions with apple cider vinegar that's great for jarring!
Nutrition
Calories: 447kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 695mg | Potassium: 512mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1615IU | Vitamin C: 41mg | Calcium: 152mg | Iron: 4mg