A SALAD TO DREAM ABOUT Finely chopped broccoli and green beans mix with farro, pecorino romano, and toasted walnuts to create a craveable salad. (Photo: Andria Dilling)
This is the kind of “salad” we could eat every day. Between crisp, chopped veggies, chewy farro, crunchy walnuts, and salty pecorino romano, this salad has everything over a bag of chips. In her “Smitten Kitchen” blog, Deb Perelman gives us a recipe for Broccoli Rubble Farro Salad. This is a slight variation of Deb’s recipe, where chopped green beans and toasty walnuts join the mix.
Ingredients
Salt
1 pound broccoli, cut into large pieces
½ pound green beans, trimmed
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
Red pepper flakes, to taste
Finely grated zest, then juice, of 1 lemon
Freshly ground black pepper
1 ½ cups cooked farro (cooked in salted water according to package directions)
½ cup grated pecorino romano
½ cup toasted, chopped walnut pieces
Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the broccoli and cook for about 2 minutes, until it is slightly softened but still crisp. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the broccoli to a colander. Rinse with cold water to stop the cooking and retain the bright green color. Place the broccoli on a kitchen towel, in a single layer, to dry.
Bring the same pot of water back to a boil, and add the green beans. Cook for about 2 minutes, until the green beans are softened but still crisp. Drain the green beans in a colander and rinse with cold water. Place the green beans on another kitchen towel.
Pat the green beans and broccoli dry with kitchen or paper towels. Chop the broccoli into small bits, about 1⁄2-inch. Chop the green beans into small bits, about ¼-inch.
Warm the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, and cook for 1 minute, until the garlic is faintly golden. Add the chopped broccoli, chopped green beans, lemon zest, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Add several grinds of black pepper and cook, stirring for 3 to 4 more minutes, until the veggies are well-seasoned and slightly more tender.
Place the cooked farro in a large bowl and stir in the vegetables and all the oil and garlic from the skillet. Stir in the cheese and walnuts, then add the lemon juice and more salt and pepper to taste.