A flexible, collaborative farro salad that features carrots and their tops alongside a garlic infused olive oil dressing.
Add farro and cook on high heat, stirring occasionally, for 20 to 30 minutes or until farro is soft but still chewy. The grain should start to look kind of frayed or split at the edges but still retain its shape.
Drain excess water, then rinse with cold water. Leave farro in strainer to cool to room temperature
When the oil is done cooking, remove it from the heat and discard the garlic cloves.
Pour the oil into the bowl with the other dressing ingredients. Whisk until the sugar is completely dissolved and dressing ingredients are thoroughly combined.
Taste and add more lemon juice, balsamic, or salt as needed.
Place the chickpeas, farro, carrots, carrot tops and parsley into a large bowl. Crumble the feta cheese on top.
Pour the salad dressing over all the ingredients and stir until it is evenly distributed throughout the salad.
You can easily use 2 15-ounce cans of chickpeas if you prefer. Be sure to drain and rinse well before adding to the farro salad. Don’t have fresh rosemary? You can add 1 tablespoon of dried rosemary to your chickpeas. My crockpot does best with a 4 to 1 ratio for water and chickpeas but your mileage may vary. Instead of broth, you can add bouillon paste or cubes and water.
This salad is easily made vegan, with cheese served on the side; I did this for a work potluck recently and it was a hit with omnivores, vegetarians, and vegans alike.
Brown rice is going to be the best gluten free grain that mimics the farro texture for a gluten free salad.
You can also add dried fruit to this farro salad. Apricot would be very good probably, as would tart cherries or cranberries. Nuts such as chopped walnuts or almonds and additional greens such as arugula, or kale that has been finely minced and massaged would also be nice to add or vary.