Description
This hearty kale, farro and squash salad is the hug of nourishment you didn’t know you needed! All of the flavors and textures will have you coming back bite after bite.
Ingredients
Roasted Squash
- 1 delicata squash, seeds removed and cubed
- 1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon each kosher salt and pepper
- 2 teaspoons sumac* (optional but recommended!)
Pickled Onion
- 1/2 large red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup water
Salad
- 3/4 cup farro
- 1 bunch tuscan kale, thinly sliced
- 1 whole lemon, juice of
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- kosher salt
- 1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 3 green onions, chopped
- 20 mint leaves, chiffonade
- 1/4 cup Marcona almonds*, roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 3 oz feta, crumbled
Instructions
Squash
Preheat oven to 425 degrees Farenheit. Toss squash and sweet potato with olive oil and seasonings. Roast for 25 minutes.
Pickled Onions
In a small sauce pan over medium heat combine onion, vinegar, sugar, salt and water. Stir until sugar and salt dissolve. Simmer for 6-8 minutes. Drain.
Salad
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add farro. Cook for 15 minutes (pearled variety) up to 25-40 minutes (traditional farro) until it is tender and chewy. Drain. Add kale to the pot. Squeeze in all of the juice from one whole lemon. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and toss to combine.
In a large salad bowl combine the farro/kale, roasted squash, pickled onions, sun-dried tomatoes, almonds, feta and all of the herbs. Toss and serve slightly warm/room temp!
Notes
Sumac is a Mediterranean spice made from the dried and ground berries of the sumac flower. I found it at World Market or you could also find it online or in a specialty foods store.
Instead of Marcona almonds you could use regular roasted almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, pine nuts or any other nut variety you prefer.
Farro is a type of hulled wheat that is nutty, chewy and an amazing source of fiber and protein, compared to many other grains. You will find it at most major grocery stores in the grains aisle. You could also use quinoa, wild or brown rice in this recipe.
To make this vegan simply omit the feta.
To make this gluten free use a gluten free grain like quinoa or brown rice (cooking time/method will differ if using a different grain)
Recipe adapted from cookieandkate.com