I love being able to throw a meal together out of humble Mediterranean pantry staples like grains and pulses (beans, chickpeas, peas, etc.) And as the weather has turned warm over here in Atlanta, it’s only fitting to use these staples in a simple, bright, and all-sorts-of tasty supper salad. Enter: Mediterranean Chickpea Farro Salad (with shrimp or not!)
The Gist of this Chickpea Farro Salad
This Mediterranean chickpea farro salad is the perfect make-ahead for a potluck or your next big BBQ gathering. But it also makes a perfectly satisfying dinner for my family. The two heros of this nutrition power-house salad are chickpeas and farro, an ancient wheat grain. Together, chickpeas and farro here provide loads of fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. It’s easy to make the farro ahead of time, which makes this farro salad a breeze to throw together any night of the week.
Throw cooked farro and a couple cups of chickpeas in a large bowl. You can build your salad from here, using what fresh ingredients you have on hand. I added cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and chopped green onions. The big Mediterranean flavors here come from fresh herbs–a large handful of parsley and fresh mint–and a zippy citrus and olive oil dressing with a few spices. This salad is great if you make it a couple hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate to let the flavors meld. Or, make it a few minutes ahead and leave at room temperature as you work on other things. You can totally serve this salad in its vegan version as is, but this time I added shrimp.
Additions to This Chickpea Farro Salad
Shrimp here is totally optional, but maybe adds an element of fancy to complete the meal. Or, you can do lemon chicken instead. If you want to add shrimp, simply season it with salt and pepper and toss in a little bit of extra virgin olive oil. Cook in a skillet on high for about 4 to 5 minutes in total until it turns pink (check out shrimp cooking tips in this post, if you need to.) I like to save a bit of the dressing to toss the shrimp in before adding to the farro salad.
A Couple Tips
Make ahead: You can make the farro ahead of time and just mix on the day you plan to serve this salad. You can make the salad a couple hours before serving, mix and refrigerate to let the flavors marry. It’s good served cold or at room temperature. Leftovers: If you prepare farro on the same day you make this salad, the salad should keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. If you’re not planning to eat much of the salad on the day it’s prepared, reserve a bit of the dressing to add later as needed. Also, it’s a good idea to store the shrimp separately in the fridge.
HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT THE 1/2 CUP HABIT?
Let me point out, in case you missed it, that in this main course salad is a 1/2 cup serving of good-for-you pulses in the form of chickpeas! Nutrition-filled pulses, like dry chickpeas; lentils; peas; and beans. Pulses pack a lot of protein, and they are rich in complex carbohydrates, fiber and B vitamins! If you don’t already eat a good portion of pulses, a simple goal would be to add to your diet just ½ cup of pulses three times per week (a total of 1 ½ cups of pulses per week, which is what USDA recommends). This is what USA Pulses and Pulse Canada call the Half-Cup Habit! Check it out here. I’ve included more recipes below.
More Recipes to Try
Spanish Chickpea Stew Mediterranean Three Bean Salad Balela Salad Mediterranean Potato Hash with Asparagus and Chickpeas Avocado Hummus
NEVER MISS A RECIPE! JOIN MY FREE E-MAIL LIST HERE TO RECEIVE NEW RECIPES, WEEKLY MEDITERRANEAN DINNER PLANS, AND MY FREE E-COOKBOOK WITH 15 HEALTHY RECIPES TO TRY!
SHOP OUR ONLINE STORE FOR QUALITY OLIVE OILS, ALL-NATURAL SPICES AND MORE.
5 from 31 reviews
1 lb/453.592 g large shrimp, peeled and deviened Kosher salt Black pepper Extra virgin olive oil (I used Greek Early Harvest)
For Salad Dressing
Juice of 1 lemon 5 tbsp/ approx 75 ml extra virgin olive oil (I used Greek Early Harvest) Kosher salt Black pepper 2 tsp/202 g dried oregano 1/2 tsp/ 1.01 g ground cumin 1/2 tsp/1.03 g sumac
