I fell in love with farro on a trip to San Francisco in 2010, when I had one of the best breakfasts of my life (which included farro porridge). It’s not a grain I cook with all that often, but any time I do I am reminded of how unique and delicious it is.
I read an article recently in a food magazine where the interviewee was asked, “what is one item that you always order if you see it on a menu?” My answer would be beets. I love to eat them, but I hate to cook them. I’m not sure why, since it really isn’t all that complicated. I think it’s the whole turning-your-hands-pink thing that turns me off from doing it at home. Golden beets are a great solution to that problem! This recipe uses both the beets and their greens, and the product is something I plan to make many times again.
Orange Root Vegetable Farro Salad
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients (4 servings)
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4 medium carrots, peeled and cubed
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3 large golden beets, peeled and cubed (reserve greens)
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1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
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1.5 cups farro (or other grain)
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3 cups water
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beet greens (reserved from beets)
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1 clove garlic, minced
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kosher salt, to taste
For the Vinaigrette
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2 tablespoons orange juice
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1 tablespoon olive oil
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1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
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pinch of salt
Instructions
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Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees. Add 1.5 cups of dry farro (or other grain of your choice, but I highly recommend farro!) to a saucepan or rice cooker, and combine with 3 cups water to cook.
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While the farro cooks, peel and chop the carrots, beets, and sweet potatoes into bite sized pieces. I chose these three root vegetables because they are all earthy, but slightly sweet. I find golden beets to be a little bit sweeter and softer than red beets, but you can use red if that is your preference (just be prepared for your salad to turn purple!).
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Rinse and reserve the beet greens, and tear the leaves into bite sited pieces (discard the stems).
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Toss the veggies on a sheet pan with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt, and roast for 40 minutes, stirring halfway. They should be soft and browning when ready.
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In a small bowl, combine orange juice, olive oil, vinegar, and salt – whisk to combine into a dressing.
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Once the farro is fluffy and the vegetables are cooked, heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds, then add the beet greens and cook for a few minutes until wilted.
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When the greens have wilted, add the farro, vegetables, and dressing, and combine all components until well mixed.
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Season to taste with any additional salt, if needed.
Serve by itself or along side some extra veggies. We ate ours with roasted crimini mushrooms and asparagus – a great way to round out a delicious meal.
This salad is quite honestly one of my favorite things I’ve made in a long time. It’s hearty, it’s comforting, it has just the right level of subtle sweetness, and it leaves you feeling like you just gobbled up a big bowl of nutrition.
It’s delicious served straight out of the pan, and just as good (if not better!) the next day for lunch.
Enjoy!
32 Comments so far
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Awww, farro!!! :) This looks outstanding!
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mmm. looks beautiful & delicious!
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Never tried farro. Must try it!
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What a beautiful dish! Looks amazing!!
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I absolutely love beets and have been wanting to give farro another try! This recipe looks simple yet amazing. Thanks for sharing =)
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Golden beets are the perfect solution to wanting beets but not wanting to stain everything in my kitchen. I admit to wearing disposable gloves when handling red beets to avoid the dreaded pink stains.
50 North (across from U Village) has a beet and farro salad made with all local ingredients. They don’t have a ton of veg things on their menu, but what they have is good and they’re very willing to accommodate special requests.
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I ordered the farro porridge when we had that blogger brunch at La Pain Quotidien in Bethesda. That’s the only time I’ve ever had it though. Looks tasty although I can’t quite get myself to like beets.
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My boyfriend and I recently went to Uchiko here in Austin (the exec chef is the most recent winner of Top Chef) and we started with the golden beet salad — incredible! It was just large chunks of golden beets served over skyr yogurt, minimal micro greens, and some kind of bee pollen and fennel sprinkle. I am dying to recreate it, I loved the golden beets.
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Beets are one of those foods that I haven’t given much of a chance. I can’t think of a time when I’ve had fresh beets, just the icky canned ones. If I seem some golden beets at the store I’m going to have to make and effort to grab them and give this a try because it looks delicious!
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I also love beets but hate having pink fingers. I recently learned that lemon juice can help wash the color away. I tried it and it really helps! It doesn’t totally wash the color away but the color was pretty much gone by the time I was done doing all the dishes.
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What a wonderful dish, I have to say I have never had farro. It looks so tasty!
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Farro is such a great grain. I could live off that and wheatberries for the rest of my life and be content. I love the chew factor. :)
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Looks delicious! I love it when you post recipies – thanks!!
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I’m not sure if I’ve ever had farro, but now I must look for it in the store!
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I agree, love beets but not the pain of prepping and cooking them! Farro is a favorite of mine, they used to have it at Costco and we bought it all the time but they have not carried it in a year and its hard to find here now!
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No pictures of the little guy! I get so used to seeing him, I feel disappointed when I don’t! The farro looks great though. I’ve never had it, but it looks just like brown rice, so I’m sure I’d love it!
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I love the colour in this salad! So bright and so unique.
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Yum! Have you noticed all the farro dishes on menus in Seattle…I love it! This salad would be a perfect change-up to my weekly lunches:)
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I gave two coworkers a root veggie recipe today. It was rainy and perfect for a hearty comfort meal!
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This looks great. I love beets and farro. Vegetarian Times had a recipe last fall with farro, chard, and dried cranberries. It is awesome AND easy so I have made it several times. Probably the first time I had farro. It is so “meaty” or sturdy. The red in red beets leaves your hands really pretty easily, but as cautioned it will turn a whole dish, one I made a vibrant pink, or purple.
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So colorful!!! Looks delish!
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This looks fantastic!! Does anyone know whether farro is a good source of protein like quinoa? BTW, Emily, I’ll be making your lemon roasted parsley potatoes for Easter this year and I’m so excited to share the recipe with my family. It’s so, so delicious!
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I also love farro but I can never find it in stores. I think it might be sold under other names. Can you shed any light on this? Thanks!
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I’ve never tried farro, but the beets thing makes me giggle. I don’t like beets, but my sister does and refuses to cook them because she thinks its a lot of work. Whenever her MIL come to town, she suggests recipes with beets that that woman does all the hard work.
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I’ve never tried farro but you’ve got me very curious!
I love the combination of the root vegetables and the citrus vinaigrette!
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Looks delicious! Big fan of farro…
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I have honestly never tried farro, but this recipe sounds amazing! My husband is out of town on business this week, so I can try crazy things in the kitchen that he might be scared of! I’m pinning this now! :)
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hey emily i wasn’t sure if you checked comments on old posts but i just left you a question about your recent raw kale salad recipe. thank you for all of your delicious recipes and help :)
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I’m such a faro nut too! I think it’s the chewiness. Never had it in porridge though. I so agree with beets, hate the pink hands! & have never tried golden beets, my goodness I need to change this. The only thing I would do to this salad, is add goats cheese. But only because I’m obsessed, not because it needs it. This looks phenomenally delicious. I can so see why it’s been a favourite! Thanks for the inspiration, lovely.
Heidi xo
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Yum, I am so making this tonight. This dish is full of all my favorites and I have some farro waiting patiently in my pantry to be used. Thank you for the inspiration!
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I made this for a side dish at Easter dinner – my entire family raved about it. Had to substite wheatberries and purple beets because that is what my grocery store had on hand. Thanks for an amazing recipe!
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Emily Malone Reply:
April 9th, 2012 at 9:00 pm
Glad to hear you liked it!
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