Never miss a bite! Sign up here to receive new recipes and reviews straight to your inbox.
Fall ingredients are the star of this Warm Farro Salad with Beet Greens, Apples and Dried Cherries. Use Gourmet Garden herbs to spice things up and this will be your new go-to salad for fall!
Salads tend to make me think of summer. Maybe it’s all the fresh produce, bright colors, and the fact that it’s usually comprised of cold ingredients — something you are always looking for during those scorching hot days here in Florida. But just because it’s fall, it doesn’t mean we have to give up our beloved salad creations!
There are some fall ingredients that are just absolutely positively meant to be tossed together into a salad. I had one of the most delicious fall salads recently when I went to dinner at Twenty Twenty Grill with Bubby. Spinach, tiny diced butternut squash, toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds), julienned dried tomato, bulgar wheat, and a lemon confit and cranberry vinaigrette. Oh my god. Heaven on a plate doesn’t even begin to describe this dish. There was pure silence at the table for a good 15 minutes while Bub and I carefully dished out perfect proportions of each ingredient onto our little salad plates until the bowl between us was basically licked clean. And then we couldn’t stop talking about how amazing it was for the next 15 minutes.
Salads are still a must in my kitchen once the weather cools down and we’re blessed with all the fall things. I don’t use iceberg lettuce when I make my salads — it’s bland, tastes like nothing, and holds no nutritional value. Why people go gaga over an iceberg wedge is beyond me. I like spinach, kale, arugula — and my new favorite is beet greens! Yes, the long leafy tops to that root vegetable that has a permanent spot in my foodie heart. If you opt for cooking with real beets (not in a can!) then you’ll have the opportunity to save the greens and use them in various ways. You can use them for juices and smoothies, braise, sauté, steam — whatever!
Sautéed beet greens make a wonderful base for a salad, especially this Warm Farro Salad with Beet Greens, Apples and Dried Cherries. I took some inspiration from that incredible salad I described before and used a little of the same method — a green, a grain, and something dried. My green? Beet greens. Grain? Farro. Dried? Cherries. Apple slices took the place of butternut squash, and goat cheese reigned supreme. I realize now that I was missing the crunchiness from some kind of seed or nut. The pepitas would have been a nice addition, or maybe some cashews or pine nuts. Walnuts would work too. And almonds. Okay, any nut would probably work…
No dressing or vinaigrette was needed here! Know why? Because I turned to my trusty Gourmet Garden herbs and seasonings to take care of my flavors. I mixed a hefty amount of cilantro and parsley into the cooked farro, which transferred over pretty well to the entire dish.
I could eat a bowl of this salad all day, everyday. It’s easy to switch up the ingredients depending on what you have in your fridge, and you could even use different Gourmet Garden products too. They have everything herb imaginable, so you’ll never run out of options.
If there’s one thing I want you to take away from this post, it’s that you need to go buy some beets just so you can save the greens and make this salad. Pronto.
- 1/2 cup farro
- 1-2 cups water
- 1 tbsp Gourmet Garden parsley
- 1 tbsp Gourmet Garden cilantro
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small shallot, minced
- greens from 5-6 medium sized beets
- 1/2 fuji apple, sliced thin
- 1/2 cup dried tart cherries
- 2 oz. crumbled goat cheese
- salt and pepper
- Fill a small sauce pot half way with water and allow to come to a boil.
- Add the farro and reduce to simmer. Cook, covered, for about 20 minutes or until farro is cooked to your liking. It should have a slight bite to it.
- While the farro is cooking, heat oil in a sauce pan over medium-high heat.
- Add shallots and cook until fragrant. Add beet greens and sauté until wilted. Season with salt and pepper.
- Once the farro has cooked, drain the water and add the Gourmet Garden parsley and cilantro, salt and pepper to the pot, stirring until well combined.
- Add the sautéed beet greens to the farro and mix well.
- To plate, scoop the farro and beet greens mixture onto a plate or wide rimmed bowl. Top with dried cherries and crumbled goat cheese. Arrange the sliced apples around the outer edge.
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post by Gourmet Gardens. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.
