Greek Farro Salad

Mid-July in Baton Rouge is not for the faint of anything. The heat settles in like a houseguest who forgot the checkout date, and the humidity makes it personal. By ten in the morning the air outside feels like walking into someone's mouth. We stayed inside most of the week. Kayla had her sketchbooks spread across the living room floor, and I had my books stacked on the coffee table. We coexisted peacefully until Tuesday when she wanted the TV and I wanted silence and Mama came in and reminded us that we were sisters, not strangers, and that being strangers would be worse.

I finished the second book on my required reading list and started the third. I am ahead of schedule. The plan is working exactly as intended.

On Thursday Mama made pasta salad for dinner because it required no stove time beyond boiling the noodles, and you only have to do that once. Cold pasta, cubed cheese, olives, salami, Italian dressing. Make it in the morning, put it in the refrigerator, and by dinner it is better than it was fresh. I asked Mama how she knew to let it rest and she said her mother taught her that flavors need time to get to know each other. I thought about that for a while. It applies to more than pasta salad.

MawMaw Shirley once told me the roux does not care if you are watching it. Your job is to stir, not to supervise. I have been applying that to a lot of things lately. Make the thing, put it away, trust it to develop. Some feelings need to marinate before you know what they are.

Rest. Trust. Eat cold. Good lesson for a July in Baton Rouge when the heat will not let you rush anything anyway. The pasta salad was good the second day. It was even better on the third.

Mama’s pasta salad got me thinking about the whole category of food that rewards patience — things you assemble once and then leave alone. This Greek farro salad works exactly the same way: the olives, the feta, the lemon, the herbs all need a few hours together in the cold before they settle into something better than the sum of their parts. Make it on a Tuesday morning when the heat is already unreasonable, put it in the refrigerator, and by dinner it will have done all the work for you. MawMaw Shirley would approve.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 30 min | Total Time: 45 min (plus at least 2 hours chilling) | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups dry farro, rinsed
3 1/2 cups water or low-sodium vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for cooking
1 English cucumber, quartered lengthwise and sliced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved
1/3 cup red onion, finely diced
1/2 cup roasted red peppers, roughly chopped
4 oz block feta cheese, cubed (not crumbled)
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1 large lemon)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 small garlic clove, grated or minced to a paste

Instructions

Cook the farro. Combine farro, water or broth, and a generous pinch of salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cook uncovered for 25–30 minutes until the farro is tender but still has some chew. Drain any excess liquid and spread onto a sheet pan or large plate to cool completely, at least 20 minutes.
Make the dressing. In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt, black pepper, and grated garlic until combined. Taste and adjust — it should be bright and assertive, as the farro will absorb a lot.
Assemble the salad. In a large bowl, combine the cooled farro, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, olives, red onion, roasted red peppers, parsley, and mint. Pour the dressing over and toss well to coat everything evenly.
Add the feta. Gently fold in the cubed feta last so the pieces stay intact. Cubing rather than crumbling keeps little pockets of cheese throughout instead of dispersing into the dressing.
Rest before serving. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, and ideally overnight. Before serving, taste and re-season with salt, lemon, or a drizzle of olive oil as needed — the farro will have absorbed some of the dressing as it rested. Serve cold, straight from the refrigerator.

Nutrition (per serving)

Greek Farro Salad — Make It in the Morning, Trust It to Rest