Farro Salad with Fennel (Printable)

Nutty farro combined with fennel, oranges, and toasted almonds in a zesty vinaigrette for a fresh meal.

# What You Need:

→ Grains

01 - 1 cup farro
02 - 3 cups water
03 - ½ teaspoon salt

→ Vegetables & Fruit

04 - 1 medium fennel bulb, thinly sliced with fronds reserved for garnish
05 - 2 large oranges, peeled and segmented
06 - 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
07 - 2 cups mixed salad greens

→ Nuts & Seeds

08 - ½ cup sliced almonds, toasted

→ Vinaigrette

09 - 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
10 - 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
11 - 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
12 - 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
13 - ½ teaspoon honey
14 - Salt and black pepper to taste

# How To Make It:

01 - Rinse farro under cold water. Combine farro, water, and ½ teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer uncovered for 20-25 minutes until tender but chewy. Drain and let cool slightly.
02 - While farro cooks, toast almonds in a dry skillet over medium heat for 2-3 minutes until golden and fragrant. Transfer to a plate to cool.
03 - In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, orange juice, vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, salt, and pepper until emulsified.
04 - In a large salad bowl, combine cooled farro with fennel, orange segments, red onion, and salad greens. Drizzle vinaigrette over the salad and toss gently to combine.
05 - Sprinkle toasted almonds and reserved fennel fronds on top. Serve immediately.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • It fills you up without making you feel heavy, which is exactly what winter salads should do.
  • Everything can be prepped ahead, so you're really just tossing things together when hunger hits.
  • The combination of chewy farro, crisp fennel, and bright citrus somehow tastes way fancier than the effort involved.
02 -
  • Don't dress the salad until you're ready to serve it, or the greens will turn into sad little puddles within an hour.
  • If you absolutely have to make this ahead, keep the farro, vegetables, and dressing separate and assemble just before eating.
03 -
  • If you don't have a fine-mesh strainer for rinsing the farro, use a regular colander but rinse it extra carefully because farro tends to slip through if you're not patient.
  • Save the liquid that the oranges release while you're segmenting them—it's liquid gold for your vinaigrette and tastes fresher than anything you could squeeze.
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