Bagged Lunch Ideas: Curried Sweet Potato Farro Salad with Dried Fruit & Nuts

I love good, hearty grain salads year round, but especially in the colder months when a light salad of mixed greens just doesn't feel like enough. No way am I ever going to have "just a salad" when it's freezing outside.

But if "just a salad" is packed with gorgeous nutty grains, roasted sweet potatoes, dried apricots and cranberries, toasted pumpkin seeds, almonds, and lovely warm spices well then, yeah, I can totally get behind that.

Farro is one of my favorite grains--nutty and packed with fiber and protein, it's one of those grains that you can really feel good about eating. Essentially whole spelt, it feels healthy and wholesome, like it can erase whatever food sins you committed earlier in the day.

Skipped breakfast? Have a bowl of farro!

Ate chocolate chip cookies for lunch? Farro!

Went out late last night, overslept, and got into work late? Pretty sure a bowl of farro will fix that!

When I first started cooking with farro I learned that I had to soak it for a couple hours before cooking with it. Not much in terms of effort, but definitely required a bit of advance planning. But the other day I happened to glance at the directions on a new bag I had just bought and saw that it recommended simply rinsing and cooking it in boiling water or broth, much the way I would a pot of quinoa or rice.

I decided to give it a shot, rinsing it thoroughly then combining with the water and bringing it up to a boil. In about 15 or so minutes, it was done! Fluffy, with a little bit of a chewy texture.

Unlike rice, cooked farro doesn't absorb all the liquid it's cooked in, so I drained it and then rinsed in very cold water before proceeding with my recipe. (The final rinse was just to cool it down since I was making a salad; for hot dishes there is no need to rinse.)

I tossed the farro with sweet potato that I'd diced and roasted, along with some chopped dried apricots and cranberries. I made a quick dressing with balsamic vinegar (I chose a strawberry one I had in the pantry to complement the dried fruit, but any good balsamic will work) and olive oil, seasoned with lime zest, curry powder, cayenne, and a few other herbs and spices. At the end, I folded in some lightly toasted sliced almonds and pumpkin seeds, for a bit of added crunch.

The results were exactly what I'd been craving and I ate two bowls of it right on the spot (all under the pretext of "recipe testing," of course).


This is one of those dishes that is really best at room temperature, so it's perfect for bagged lunches or for entertaining a crowd. You can make the dish well in advance as it keeps for about a week (if not more).

You should also feel free to improvise, swapping out other nuts or dried fruits, using butternut squash or zucchini, or even adding in cooked shrimp or diced chicken to make it a heartier dish.  If you don't have or like farro, you can use wheat berries, couscous, quinoa, barley, or even brown rice instead (just follow prepare each of those according to their specific directions before proceeding with the recipe.) When I had some yesterday afternoon, I topped it with a dollop of Greek yogurt and found that it added a perfect bit of tang.

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Curried Sweet Potato Farro Salad with Dried Fruit & Nuts

Print this Recipe

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup uncooked farro (whole spelt)
4 cups water
kosher salt
2 medium sized sweet potatoes, washed and diced (but not peeled)
4-5 sage leaves
Extra virgin olive oil
black pepper
1/4 cup parsley, minced
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
For the dressing
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Zest of one lime
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cayenne


Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine the farro and water in a medium pot and add about 2 teaspoons of kosher salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer about 30 minutes until the farro is tender with just a bit of chew. Once ready, drain the farro well and rinse under cold water to cool. Let drain in a colander while you prepare the rest of the recipe.

While the farro cooks, toss the diced sweet potatoes and sage leaves with a few teaspoons of olive oil and season well with kosher salt and pepper. Spread out on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the pieces are fork tender. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Toss the cooled farro with the cooked sweet potatoes (including the sage), parsley, scallions, cranberries, and apricots. Make sure everything is evenly distributed.

Combine the almonds and pumpkin seeds in a large skillet and toast over medium heat about 2-3 minutes, shaking the pan regularly and keeping a close eye on them so they don't burn. You just want them to warm up and smell a little bit toasted. Remove from heat and let cool.

Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing: olive oil, balsamic, lime zest, curry powder, turmeric, and cayenne. Pour dressing onto the farro mixture and toss to coat evenly. Fold in the cooled and toasted almonds and pumpkin seeds. Season with additional kosher salt and black pepper, to taste.

Serve at room temperature or chill, if desired. Will keep well in an air-tight container in the fridge for at least one week. 

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Farro, Beet & Citrus Salad w/ Goat Cheese

I realize I've had this wicked salted fudge recipe in your face for the past few days, so I figured we'd start this week off by talking about something just a tad bit more virtuous. (I promise I'll be back to talking about cake by Friday!)

This farro salad is definitely going to play an important role in my repertoire this spring. Mostly because it's delicious, but also because it's delightfully easy to throw together, and because it literally (best part!) keeps for about a week in the fridge once made. This means I can toss it together on a lazy Sunday afternoon, and then take it to work for lunch throughout the week until I get sick of it. It's meant to be eaten cool and keeps well so you can pack it into your picnic basket or take it with you for lunch on an airplane (lest you have to shell out 7 bucks for a beef jerky "snack pack"). Once you get tired of eating it as a salad, the leftovers can be re-purposed quite easily. In my house, my healthy weekday salad became a creamy and very cheesy breakfast "risotto" come Saturday morning. (More about that later...)

I first learned about farro back when I was in culinary school in Florence, but I admit that I was never really that interested in it until now. Farro, though not quite as well known here as risotto and pasta, is quite common in Italy. Essentially whole spelt (which may sound a bit more familiar to you), it's very similar in texture to brown rice or barley, but with a much more pleasant, almost nutty, taste. Some die-hard fans claim the uncooked grains smell like Tuscany, but I'm afraid my memories of Tuscany smell more like rolling tobacco and cheap wine so I can't really confirm that.

There is a bit of work involved when preparing farro, but it's that hands-off lazy kind of work; more waiting than fussing. The grains should be soaked first for about 20-30 minutes, much in the same way you might soak dried beans or bulgar wheat (the latter actually makes a good substitute for farro if you don't have any on hand). I simply toss them in a pot and cover with water until it's about an inch above the surface, then just leave it on the counter while I run off to watch an episode of Community. By the time the show is over, the farro is about ready to cook. I strain all the water out and then add 6 cups of chicken broth, a bit of salt, and a crack of pepper and let it simmer for another 30 minutes (or an episode of Parks & Recreation). Once the show is over, the grains are tender, I drain them (reserving the chicken broth for another meal) and spread them out on a cookie sheet to cool.

The salad making part is really simple and easily adaptable to whatever ingredients you may have on hand. For this recipe, I added the cooled farro to a big bowl and drizzled it generously with good fruity olive oil. I tossed in two large roasted and diced beets, two big handfuls of baby arugula, and a peeled and segmented orange. In a separate small bowl, I whisked together a teaspoon of strawberry preserves, a tablespoon of lemon juice, and a couple tablespoons of good balsamic vinegar. I added a few teaspoons of this to the mix and tossed everything together well until coated. I served it in big bowls and topped with a few pieces of crumbled goat cheese. The sweetness of the beets, oranges, strawberry, and balsamic are wonderful against the rich nuttiness of the farro. The arugula adds a bit of lightness to it. The salty and tangy goat cheese and the sour notes from the balsamic and citrus balance the whole dish out perfectly.

At the grocery store, look for farro in the pasta and grain aisle, perhaps near the imported packages (it usually comes from Italy). A package at a store like Whole Foods will typically cost about 7-9 dollars which may seem like a lot, but consider that, much like rice, a little goes a long way. One cup of uncooked farro makes about 4 entree servings; more if you're serving it as a side dish. It's also packed with protein, good carbs, and other nutrients so you're definitely getting quite a bit of bang for your buck.

If you're wondering how you'll use it, remember that the grains can be added to soup or to the bottom of a braised dish (it needs some kind of liquid to cook). You can also make a creamy risotto-like dish with it much the same way you would with arborio rice, or you can cheat and do what I did on Saturday morning: combine a cup of cooked farro (perhaps left over from this salad!) with a cups of sauteed mushrooms, a 1/4 cup of heavy cream, and 3 tablespoons of cream cheese in a 3 quart saucepan over medium heat, stirring throughout. Season with cracked black pepper and salt before serving. It's a lovely creamy dish that's all kinds of comforting and (when starting with the cooked grains) takes just about 15 minutes to get on the table.


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Farro, Beet & Citrus Salad w/ Goat CheeseServes 4 as a main course or 6 as a side dish

Ingredients
1 cup uncooked farro
6 cups chicken broth
2 medium-large beets, roasted and diced
2-3 large handfuls of baby arugula
1 large orange, peeled, segmented and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 oz goat cheese, crumbled

For the dressing
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon strawberry or raspberry preserves
Juice of 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper

Pour the farro into a large pot or bowl and cover with water. let soak for 30 minutes to an hour. drain, discard water, and return soaked farro to pot.

Cover soaked and drained farro with 6 cups chicken broth and bring to a boil. Lower heat and let simmer for 30 minutes or until farro is tender. Drain farro (reserve chicken broth for other use) and spread a baking sheet to cool. (about 15 minutes)

While farro is cooling, make dressing. Whisk together the olive oil, balsamic, preserves, lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper.

When farro is cool, combine in large bowl with diced beets, arugula, orange segments, and dressing. Toss well and serve topped with crumbled goat cheese.

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