Charlie Bird’s Farro Salad

#dishes/salad #dietary/vegetarian #active-time/30mins-or-less #scalable #cuisines/italian #meals/lunch #meals/packed-lunch #meals/dinner
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015843-charlie-birds-farro-salad
Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 cup farro
• 1 cup apple cider
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt, more as needed
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 70 grams Parmesan cheese, shaved with a vegetable peeler (½ cup)
• 70 grams chopped pistachio nuts (½ cup)
• 2 cups arugula leaves
• 1 cup parsley or basil leaves, torn
• 1 cup mint leaves
• ¾ cup halved cherry or grape tomatoes
• ⅓ cup thinly sliced radish
• Maldon or other flaky sea salt, for finishing

Instructions

1. In a medium saucepan, bring farro, apple cider, salt, bay leaves and 1 cup water to a simmer. Simmer until farro is tender and liquid evaporates, about 30 minutes. If all the liquid evaporates before the farro is done, add a little more water. Let farro cool, then discard bay leaves.
2. In a salad bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Add farro, cheese and pistachio nuts and mix well. This salad base will keep for up to 4 hours at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator (bring to room temperature before serving). Just before serving, fold in arugula, herbs, tomatoes, radish and flaky salt to taste.

Journal

• 2025-09-21: made for housewarming brunch in SF! Came out really well, got compliments.
• 2025-12-01: made with Maria while home in Concord. Used carrots instead of radish and still was good. Permanent changes to recipe: reduced dressing by half and cooked farro in 2:1 instead of 3:1 ratio (like we did the first time).