Description
Bright, flavor-packed Mediterranean chickpea and farro salad with fresh veggies, herbs and a zippy citrus and olive oil dressing. You can add shrimp as instructed here or serve vegan. Lemon chicken is another great option to add. Be sure to see tips and cook’s notes.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 1/2 cup/345 g cooked farro (you’ll start with 1 cup dry and cook according to package, see recipe notes)
- 2 cups/330 g cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed (canned chickpeas are fine)
- 10 oz/283.495 g cherry tomatoes, halved (I used different color tomatoes)
- 1 English cucumber, diced
- 2 green onions, trimmed and chopped (both white and green parts)
- 1 large handful fresh parsley, chopped
- 15 mint leaves, chopped
For Shrimp
- 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
Instructions
- In a small bowl or mason jar, add the dressing ingredients (lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, and sumac.) Whisk well, or close the mason jar and shake until well-combined.
- In a large salad bowl, combine cooked farro with the chickpeas and remaining salad ingredients (cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, green onion, parsley, and mint leaves).
- Pour the majority of the dressing on top of the salad, toss to combine (leave a bit of the dressing, like 3 tbsp or so for the shrimp.) Set aside to allow flavors to meld.
- To make the shrimp. Place uncooked shrimp in a bowl, pat dry with some paper towels. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil and toss to coat.
- Heat a skillet or griddle over high heat. Add shrimp and cook on one side till it starts to turn pink, turn over and cook on both sides (4 to 5 minutes in total.) Turn heat off and add the remaining 3 tbsp of dressing to the hot shrimp, toss to coat.
- To serve, transfer the farro salad to a serving platter or individual serving bowls. Add shrimp on top.
Notes
- Cook’s Tip for How to Cook Farro: You can cook farro a couple days in advance and keep in the fridge in a tight-lid glass container. Start with 1 cup dry farro combined with 3 cups of water and a good pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium-low. Cover and cook for about 30 minutes. Cooked farro will keep a pleasantly chewy bite.
- Serving Tip: If serving as dinner, this recipe will easily serve 4. Otherwise, it will serve 8 or more as a starter or alongside other potluck dishes.
- Recipe Variations/Vegan etc: Shrimp is optional here. To make this chickpea farro salad vegan, simply omit shrimp. If you’re looking for other options, try this quick skillet lemon chicken in place of shrimp.
- 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.
- How long with Leftovers Keep? 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.
- Visit The Mediterranean Dish online store for our Greek olive oil collection, all-natural and organic spices and more!
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 5 mins
- Category: Salad
- Method: Tossed
- Cuisine: Mediterranean