Summer Farro Salad Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

Do you need to soak farro before cooking? ›

As we've already discussed, soaking whole farro or semi-pearled farro will speed up the cooking time significantly - although it's not necessary. If you have the forethought, add the farro to a bowl of water and soak it overnight in the refrigerator.

Cook the farro: Fill a medium pot half full of water and bring to a boil. Add the farro, reduce the heat and simmer until the farro is tender, chewy, but still has an al dente bite - 15 to 20 minutes for pearled farro; 20 to 30 minutes for semi-pearled farro; up to 40 minutes for whole farro.

Because our dry farro is lightly scratched (also sometimes called "semi pearled farro" or "pearled farro") it's technically not considered a whole grain. A small percentage of the bran has been lost during this process but the benefit is the quicker cooking time.

Farro is sometimes covered in a dusty residue as a result of processing. To remove it (and any other unwanted debris that might be present), always rinse your farro under cool, running water in a fine-mesh strainer before cooking it.

The farro will absorb a lot of the water, but the excess should be drained off. You can either use a colander or just carefully tilt the pot while using the lid to hold the grains in place. Drain off as much water as possible to prevent it from turning mushy.

Although farro is a relatively healthy grain, it's important to remember that, like all grains, farro is relatively high in carbohydrates. Sticking to appropriate ¼ cup portion sizes of farro can prevent you from overindulging in carbohydrates for the day.

A half cup of farro contains as much as 8 grams of fiber and protein; the same amount of quinoa results in only 2.5 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein. If you don't practice a gluten-free diet, start replacing white rice and pasta with farro.

"Farro is a great source of fiber, iron, protein and magnesium. With all of those nutrients in this little grain, it can provide a lot of health benefits for your diabetes or for heart health or for brain health."

Also, be advised that farro contains gluten. If you have celiac disease or are otherwise gluten intolerant, avoid the grain. As you may have guessed, you'll also want to sidestep farro if you have a wheat allergy.

One cup of uncooked farro makes about 2.5 cups of cooked farro. As stated before, cooking farro is like pasta. When it is finished cooking, the extra water is drained away so there is not an exact ratio of water to farro used. However, I like to add at least 3 cups of water for 1 cup of farro.

Is farro a carb or protein? ›

A 45-gram serving of pearled farro provides 150 calories, most of which are carbohydrates. You'll consume 29 grams of carbohydrate in a 1/3 cup serving, 3 grams of fiber, and 1 gram of sugar. The rest of the carbohydrate in farro is starch.

Semi-pearled farro: This version is the best of both worlds with half of the grain intact and a reduced cook time. Whole farro: Since the grain is still intact, this version has the most nutrients per serving and strongest flavor.

Farro has a low glycemic index, meaning it does not cause as much of a rise in blood sugar compared to refined carbohydrates, such as potatoes or pasta. This keeps blood sugar levels more stable, which can be useful for those with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes.

The whole grain version of farro is more nutritious than the husked or “pearled” type.

If you are using whole farro, you can soak for a few hours or overnight. Place farro in a bowl or pot and enough water to cover the grain, then cover with a lid. Refrigerate and soak for a few hours or overnight before cooking. Note that if you soak farro, it will only require 10-15 minutes of simmering.

Soak farro in enough water to cover (and a splash of lemon juice or vinegar to be even more effective) for several hours or overnight. Soaking also reduces cooking time and lends a more even texture in the cooked grain.

Soaking is not necessary but it does appear to make it easier to digest and breaks down the phytic acid that blocks absorption of some nutrients. See this article from Food and Nutrition Magazine for more information.

Simmer the farro.

Add the farro, salt (plus any optional aromatics) to a large pot of boiling water and stir to combine. Simmer until the farro is tender and chewy — approximately 15-20 minutes for pearled farro, 25-30 minutes for semi-pearled farro, or 35-40 minutes for whole farro.