Cookbooks
Never Say Never to Dolce
A brand-new collection of 50 approachable homemade desserts – from iconic Cannoli to Dolci al Cucchiaio and more – that proves there’s always room for a little sweetness.
Manuela’s Sweet Temptations
A collection of 50 irresistible dessert recipes, from classic Italian treats to modern favorites—including gluten-free options.
The Complete Italian Cookbook: Essential Regional Cooking of Italy
A collection of 50 irresistible dessert recipes, from classic Italian treats to modern favorites—including gluten-free options.
Healthy, Fresh, and Filling Greek-Style Summer Farro Salad
Tasty, super healthy and flavorful summer Greek-style farro salad with cucumbers, celery, tomatoes, chickpeas, baby spinach, kalamata olives and feta cheese
Here is the perfect summer lunch pick me up!
This one-dish vegetarian meal is great for summer picnic and so easy to pack for lunch. It’s fresh, healthy and filling.
This Greek style farro salad has it all.
The fresh and nutrient-packed baby spinach that perfectly complements the chewy and nutty-flavored farro.
The crunchy cucumber and celery, the fresh tomatoes, the wholesome chickpeas, the tasty olives and the savory feta cheese.
All combined and mixed with a lemony vinaigrette dressing.
As I said, the perfectly light and satisfying summer lunch!
Farro is a great versatile wholesome ingredient, with a chewy texture and nutty flavor that can be used in salads, soups or other dishes.
This hulled wheat comes in three species – farro grande, farro medio and farro piccolo.
And two varieties: whole farro which needs to be rinsed and soaked before cooking and it takes about 1 hour to boil.
OR pearled farro that doesn’t need soaking and generally cooks in 20 to 30 minutes.
You can also find precooked farro that takes only 10 minutes to cook. Trader Joe’s has a “10 minute Farro” which I love!
While you cook the farro, you can chop and prepare the rest of the salad.
As usual, my recipe is just a guide to what you can do with this salad. But let your taste, and what you have in your fridge guide you.
I chopped cucumber, celery, and tomatoes. Carrots or fresh or grilled peppers taste great in this salad too.
I used fresh baby spinach, but you can also substitute for baby arugula, or baby kale!
I added feta cheese, but you can skip for a vegan alternative. Or add your favorite shredded cheese.
The dressing is my usual lemon/extra virgin olive oil vinaigrette that comes together in a minutes. Feel free to substitute with your favorite dressing too!
Ready to try it too?!? Here is my recipe for you!
Other vegetarian recipes you might like:
Crispy Chickpeas and Barley Salad
Healthy, Fresh, and Filling Greek-Style Summer Farro Salad
Tasty, super healthy and flavorful summer Greek-style farro salad with cucumbers, celery, tomatoes, chickpeas, baby spinach, kalamata olives and feta cheese
Servings:
4
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
15 min
Resting Time
Total Time
25 min
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups pearled farro (I used 10-minutes pre-cooked)
- 1 15 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 Persian cucumber, diced
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- 1/4 cup kalamata olives, sliced
- 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
- 2 cups baby spinach (or baby arugula if you prefer), chopped
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- red pepper flakes to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- freshly ground pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cook the farro following the instruction on the package. For my pre-cooked pearled farro: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the farro and boil for 10 to 12 minutes stirring occasionally, until tender (but still a little chewy). It will take 20 minutes for regular pearled farro, and around 30 to 40 minutes for unprocessed.
- Drain and rinse the farro to prevent overcooking and set aside to cool.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, oregano, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.
- In a salad bowl combine the chickpeas, cucumber, celery, tomato, kalamata olives and toss.
- Add the farro, spinach and feta cheese. Drizzle in the dressing and toss to combine.
- Add more salt and pepper to taste if needed. Enjoy!
