Farro and fennel bring earthy flavors to this fresh salad, while blueberries add juicy sweetness. A zesty lemon dressing rounds it all out. Be sure not to drain off all the farro cooking liquid without saving a little to use in the dressing.
By Nancy Macklin, RDN ,
Ingredients
- 1 cup chopped red onion
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 2 cups pearled farro
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 4½ teaspoons pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
- 4 cups fresh baby spinach
- 2 cups fresh blueberries
- 1 fennel bulb, trimmed, halved, cored, and very thinly sliced
- ½ cup sliced scallions (green onions)
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ¼ cup sliced almonds, toasted
Instructions
- In a large saucepan cook red onion over medium 2 to 3 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally and adding water, 1 to 2 Tbsp. at a time, as needed to prevent sticking. Add broth and farro. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until farro is soft but still chewy in the center. Reserve ⅔ cup of the cooking liquid. Drain the remaining liquid. Rinse farro with cold water; drain. Let cool.
- Meanwhile, for dressing, in a small bowl combine the reserved cooking liquid and the next four ingredients (through oregano). Toss half the dressing with the farro.
- In an extra-large bowl combine farro mixture, spinach, blueberries, fennel, and scallions. Pour remaining dressing over salad; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with almonds.
Nutritional Information:
Per serving (¼ of recipe), 553 calories, 104 g carbohydrates, 18 g protein, 6 g total fat, 332 mg sodium, 21 g fiber, 18 g sugar
Note: Nutritional information is provided as an estimate only.
Looks tasty but the nutritional information is useless without a portion size. Seems to be a quarter of recipe but had to calculate that myself.
I was looking at this recipe and wondering…is it any good? I hate wasting produce and grains! (Who doesn’t?) But I’m so excited to say this is fabulous! I only used 1/4 of red onion, and none of the green onion, but it still was really good! And I loved the dressing!
So delicious. Everything goes together very well and all the different layers of flavour make this a keeper.
I never would have thought to put these ingredients together and was VERY hesitant when a friend suggested we try it. It was great! I will make again.
Same here. I was pleasantly surprised at how delicious it was and am making it again for dinner tonight.