Farro Salad with Spring Vegetables

This Farro Salad with Spring Vegetables is loaded with whole grain and crunchy vegetables. It’s a healthy side dish, or it can be a meal all by itself. The nutty chew of the farro pairs nicely with the crunch of the vegetables. It’s topped with an easy and delicious artichoke vinaigrette you will love. This salad is a winner!

Fresh and Healthy-

Oh, Spring! It’s great, isn’t it? I love when I start seeing little flowers just start to peek up out of the ground. I just started to notice that last week. It’s pure magic after three months of the cold and gray of winter. 

When this time of year hits, I am so ready for fresh veggies and lighter dishes. This farro salad recipe is the perfect cure for the winter blues. I love the colors, and it is great with soup, main dishes, or all on its own.

The Salad Ingredients

Farro

Farro in the Italian language means “ancient wheat grain” and it is thought to be one of the first crops ever cultivated. It’s texture is chewy and it has a nutty flavor to it. This grain is very versatile, and makes a great replacement for rice in most dishes.

There are three types of Farro: Spelt, Emmer, and Einkorn. The word Farro does not actually refer to only one grain, but these three types. The most common in the US is Emmer. 

If you are looking for an ingredient to add to your diet that has quite a few health benefits, Farro is a great choice. For more information on it’s nutritional benefits, check out this article from Healthline.

Purple Carrots

I love purple carrots! They taste the same as your garden variety orange, but they just add so much color to any dish they are a part of. With a dark purple exterior and a bright yellow center, they bring a bit of sunshine to a recipe. 

Be sure to slice the carrots as thin as you can, since they are not cooked for this recipe.

Radishes

Radishes not only add some punch, but some color as well. You want to be sure these are cut into thin slices, radishes can have a strong flavor.

Leeks

Raw leek has a nice mild flavor that is not too strong in this salad. I only use the white part for this recipe. You can always save the green leek tops for making vegetable stock.

Asparagus

There are not many things that say “Spring” louder than asparagus! Try to use thinner stalks for this recipe. Since they will be raw, the thicker spears tend to be a bit woody unless they are cooked.

The Artichoke Vinaigrette

While I don’t use many processed or jarred ingredients, I must say that jarred marinated artichoke hearts are a favorite of mine. Using the marinade in the dressing adds a nice flavor to the vinaigrette.

You could use dried thyme if you can’t find fresh, but really try to get the fresh thyme for this recipe!

If you decided to use this vinaigrette on other salads, I wouldn’t stop you. It’s a good one!

Serving Suggestions and Variations

I love this salad on its own, but it’s great paired with my Cream of Asparagus Soup for a light dinner. It would also be nice with my Curried Chicken Salad with Coconut for a picnic.

This salad makes a nice work lunch. It makes enough to last nearly the whole work week, and you don’t even need a microwave!

Kept in a tightly sealed container, this salad will keep for about 4 days. You can store it with the dressing mixed in, no need to keep them separate. 

If you can’t find any purple carrot, feel free to use orange, white, or yellow carrots instead. Or, just use a different color of carrots anyway because you can!

For an alternative to the leeks in this salad, chopped shallot is really nice. Just make sure that you are using something mild in flavor.

While this recipe utilizes Spring veggies, you can definitely make this year round! Butternut squash, shaved brussels sprouts, fennel, dried cranberries, broccoli, cauliflower, or pretty much any veggies that are great raw would be a nice addition or replacement for the ones listed in the recipe.

If you tried this recipe, I’d love to hear how it turned out! Just leave a rating or comment below, or take a picture and tag me @thecoppertable on Instagram, or share with your friends on social media! If you have not signed up for my weekly newsletter, you can do that below. I have all sorts of exclusive content just for newsletter subscribers, and I’d love for you to join. This recipe is linked to #CookBlogShare Week 11, hosted by Melissa. Happy Cooking!