RECIPE: Tomato and Cucumber Farro Salad • DreaminLace

I’m always on the hunt for a super easy, power food to whip up on weekends to carry me through the week. Enter, this Tomato and Cucumber Farro Salad – that’s as vegetarian (or vegan, if you prefer) as it is delicious.

(Yes, I am a vegetarian…so if you’re expecting my famous BBQ ribs recipe on here, look elsewhere..haha ;))

But, BACK to the salad that will satisfy your tummy big time!

Shout out to Fresh Thyme for being my new ‘all time favorite’ grocery store. Sorry Whole Foods – I love you, and I’m going to visit you on occasion…but Fresh Thyme is every bit as good and fresh, at a fraction of the cost. Yes, affordable produce makes me SWOON!

So, I picked up all my Cucumber and Tomato Farro Salad ingredients at Fresh Thyme and whipped this up in just about no time at all. Literally, it doesn’t get much more simple than this in the kitchen. You pretty much saute and onion – and that’s it.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Ingredients:

1 white onion
2 cups (uncooked) farro
3-5 tablespoons of olive oil
4 cups vegetable stock
2 cucumbers
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1/4 – 1/2 cup fresh Basil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
sea salt and ground pepper, to taste
*optional* crumbled feta cheese

Directions:

1. Saute onion in a large sauce pan over medium heat for 4-5 minutes.

2. Add uncooked farro, saute with onions for 1-2 minutes. Stir and coat mixture thoroughly.

3. Add vegetable stock to sauce pan and bring to a boil. Then, cover and reduce heat to medium-low to simmer for 15 minutes.

4. Drain farro/onion mixture and chill for 1-2 hours.

5. In a large glass bowl, combine diced cucumber, halved cherry tomatoes and diced basil.

6. Mix in chilled farro and onion. Then, add red wine vinegar and a tablespoon of olive oil.

7. Mix together and salt/pepper to taste.

8. *Optional* Serve with a sprinkling of crumbled feta cheese on top.

Et Voila! Maybe the easiest, most satisfying and refreshing meal ever. This Cucumber and Tomato Farro Salad is PERFECT for the warm, summer months ahead, and makes a great packed lunch on work days. It’s my first time actually making farro myself and I was blown away by how simple it is to whip up. Personally, I’m a big fan of quinoa but enjoy mixing it up, and farro is a great alternative.

Speaking of quinoa – you could easily substitute it for the farro if you have a difficult time locating it. Farro is definitely available at Whole Foods and Fresh Thyme, but might not be as accessible as quinoa in a traditional supermarket.

To add to the refreshing aspect, I like sipping on a glass of tonic water with lemon on the side. Now that the sunshine and warmer temperatures are upon us, I’m sure this easy salad will be in regular rotation!

Let me know what other recipes you’d like to see on Dream in Lace!