Farro Salad with Asparagus and Tomatoes

It’s finally spring!  It’s always a little hard to tell in Ohio.  Spring technically arrives on the calendar long before the weather changes for the better, but knowing that it’s happening, even if just in title is comforting.  Even when the weather refuses to cooperate, we can start to celebrate the trappings of spring in the kitchen and mix up the ingredient list.

Ok, so we’re not into the fresh/local asparagus season yet, but you can still get some long-range-transported-out-of-state asparagus at the store, pretty much wherever you live. (Although I feel a little guilty for endorsing this, the harsh truth is that, in Ohio, I do not always eat fresh and local, and I don’t know anyone who does.  Maybe some day when I retire to the Bahamas.)  Nonetheless, in a couple months, we’ll make this salad, but even fresher!  Ok, let’s gather some ingredients…

This recipe is super easy because it doesn’t take much time, and there are only a few ingredients.  (That’s one reason I like it so much.) You’re gonna want to grab one bunch of asparagus, one lemon, one pint of grape tomatoes, 1 1/2 cups of pearled farro, one small container of crumbled feta cheese, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

This is a perfect dish for training season. Thanks to a mix of healthy complex carbs and protein plus a few antioxidants, it’s great fuel the night before a long run or as part of a recovery meal afterward.  I don’t know about you, but regardless of whether I’m signed up for a race or not, I feel like spring is training time.  It’s more inviting to go outside, and it just feels like your body is ready for you to start moving more.  In this case, I am signed up for a spring half-marathon, so I’m especially invested in making sure those training runs go well.

You can start anywhere you like.  I start by squeezing some lemons.  We’ll also need to lightly steam the asparagus, cook the farro, and slice the tomatoes.

I bought my farro in bulk which means that it didn’t come with cooking instructions on a package, so I headed straight to the internet to get some advice. It’s a lot like cooking rice – I boiled this for about 30 minutes and came up with just the right texture and consistency.   You can probably cook it a bit  longer, but I like mine a little on the firm/chewy side.  Farro is a trendy “ancient grain” which just means that it’s been around for a long time and has a slightly nutty taste. It’s really popular in Italian cooking, and it’s a phenomenal food for runners thanks to its higher fiber, protein, magnesium, and B vitamins compared to ordinary wheat.  Since it does come from wheat, it does contain gluten, so be aware for your gluten-averse friends.

Toss together all these tasty ingredients, and you’ve got yourself a complete meal or a side dish. This salad resulted in what I’d consider to be a perfect balance of the chewy farro, salty feta, slightly crunchy steamed asparagus and sweet little tomatoes.  A little light dressing from the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper gives it just enough flavor.

Spring has only just begun… plenty of time to make so many iterations of this meal for the next few months.  And just imagine how it’ll get better and better as that asparagus gets closer and closer to home, and those tomatoes get a little bit heirloom-y from the Farmer’s Market.  Maybe you’ll even get some local feta?!  You just boggled my mind.  Enjoy!

[lt_recipe name=”Farro Salad with Asparagus and Tomatoes” servings=”6″ prep_time=”20M” difficulty=”Easy” summary=”Perfect for some of that fresh spring asparagus and great fuel for before or after those long training runs!” print=”yes” image=”http://www.eighteenalmonds.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/IMG_8934-150×150.jpg” ingredients=”1 1/2 c. uncooked pearled farro;1 bunch of asparagus;1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved;1 small container crumbled feta cheese (4-6 oz.);1 lemon;3 tbsp. good extra virgin olive oil;Salt & pepper to taste” ]Boil the farro in a pot of generously salted water for 30 minutes and drain. (Scoop farro out instead of pouring out the water so that you can re-purpose the boiling water for the asparagus.);Steam asparagus for 4-5 minutes over the boiling water, then shock in ice water to stop cooking. Cut into bite-sized pieces.;Toss cooked farro, steamed asparagus pieces, tomatoes, and feta with lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper. [/lt_recipe]