Joy the Baker

Roasted Cauliflower, Beet, and Farro Winter Salad

by 47 Comments

Roasted Cauliflower, Beet, and Farro Salad

I don’t seem to have a brain for meal-prep.  I’m guilty of wandering the grocery store aisles picking up cold cereal, crackers, a really expensive bar of soap and… little else.   I’m notoriously horrible at actually making myself dinner and, as it turns out, scrambled eggs with hot sauce make a tremendously fine dinner meal.  

Understanding my shortcomings, and being entirely tired of scrambled eggs for dinner, I’ve discovered that if I have a big bowl of something in the refrigerator, I’m saved.  

Something could be a big bowl of Carrot Jalapeño Soup, a big bowl of Apple and Fennel Salad, or something like this… with hearty roasted cauliflower and sweet earthy beets.  Farro makes the salad filling and solid.  

A big bowl of something.  Good, hearty, real food that isn’t scrambled eggs that you can eat straight from the fridge… if you’re into that sort of thing (and we’re all into that sort of thing).  

Roasted Cauliflower, Beet, and Farro Salad

Farro!  

Are you into farro!?  It’s a wheat berry that, when boiled, becomes puffed and hearty.  It’s full of fiber and hearty carbs that break down slowly and give you sustained energy.  I like farro because it’s sturdy enough to live in soups and salad in a big bowl in the refrigerator.  It sustains.  

Also in our salad:  roasted beets, soft and smoky cauliflower, greens, and salty feta.  

Roasted Cauliflower, Beet, and Farro Salad

I love roasted cauliflower.  I just really love it. 

Roasted Cauliflower, Beet, and Farro Salad

Roasted beets are cooled and peeled and then it’s bowl time.  

All in.  All of it IN.  

Roasted Cauliflower, Beet, and Farro Salad

 Spinach is a good green for this salad because it can be coated with dressing and still live in the fridge for a few days.  

Roasted Cauliflower, Beet, and Farro Salad

Let’s just accept the fact that beets make everything pink.  

Fingers, farro, and everything in between.  

Roasted Cauliflower, Beet, and Farro Salad

Well well well.  Look at us not eating just scrambled eggs and hot sauce for dinner.  We’re salty, sweet, hearty, and whole.  Get yourself a big bowl of something.  It’s life-sustaining.    

Print

Roasted Cauliflower, Beet, and Farro Salad

★★★★★

5 from 3 reviews
  • Author: Joy the Baker
  • Prep Time: 20
  • Cook Time: 40
  • Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

Scale

For the Salad

  • 2 cups farro
  • 3 small beets
  • 1 head of cauliflower, cut into small chunks
  • coarse sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper, smoky paprika
  • olive oil
  • 2 handfuls of salad greens, coarsely chopped
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

For the Vinaigrette

  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • splash red wine vinegar
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Start by cooking the faro. Bring about 5 cups of water to a boil. Season the boiling water with salt. Add the farro and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer the farro until puffed and tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse with cool water. Set aside.
  2. Place a rack in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  3. Scrub beets and remove the leafy green stems. Place beets in a large piece of foil, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and seal up the foil. Set on a rimmed baking sheet and place on the center rack on the oven to roast until softened through, about 30 minutes depending on the size of your beets.
  4. On another rimmed baking sheet, scatter cauliflower chunks in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper, and paprika. Place on the upper rack of the oven a roast until browned, sizzling, and softened through, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven once or twice during roasting to toss and stir the cauliflower.
  5. Remove both the roasted beets and roasted cauliflower from the oven and allow to rest until cool enough to handle.
  6. Peel the beets and slice into chunks.
  7. In a large bowl toss together cooked farro, roasted beets, roasted cauliflower, salad greens, and crumbled feta.
  8. In a small jar with a tight fitting lid, shake together all of the vinaigrette ingredients. Taste and season.
  9. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad. Toss and serve.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 6

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Maclean Nash

    I love this recipe and make it at least once a month.
    Occasionally, I sub pot pot barley instead of farro and if I dont have feta, I use parm instead which is nice and I ALWAYS have that in my fridge :)
    To make the process go a hell of a lot faster, I cut the beets, drizzle with oil and salt and pepper than put them on a baking sheet to cook.

    Thank you so much, Joy!
    xo

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  2. Maclean Nash

    Long time reader here!
    I just want to come back to this recipe and say it is still as delicious as ever! I also love subbing the farro for barley! Adding other roasted veg is great too; sometimes I swap the cauliflower for broccoli. Other times I add roasted sweet potato! Super versatile and can easily be made vegan (it is still delicious without feta)! And the dressing is always fab!
    Thank you so much for sharing your recipes that are “put-in-your-recipe-rolodex-and-eat-again-and-again-delicious!”

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  3. Maclean Nash

    I found this recipe deep in my recipe rolodex (who am I kidding, I mean my email) and my notes on it were, “All I ever need in a meal” and “The dressing is delicious, I added a bit of dijon”.
    I whipped it up last night and added sweet potato as well.
    It was the highlight of my day and I have leftovers for lunch! Yay!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  8. Varymary

    Amazing! I did not have farro so I used quinoa. I never liked cauliflower and bought it for the first time for this recipe. I’m a roasted cauliflower convert!

    Reply

  9. Kathy K

    Thanks so much for this ‘winter salad’ recipe~~appropriate for a day when the wind chills here (WI) are below zero. (Roasted cauliflower (with peeled garlic cloves) is so good that it often gets ‘sampled’ right off of the baking sheet in this kitchen!) I have some roasted chickpeas, so may add them too. Just happen to have your amazing new cookbook; may have to make something (chocolate;) to complete the meal!

    Reply

  16. Krista

    Made this last night and it was delicious. It did require a lot of dishes: 2 sheet pans, pot, bowl, cutting board. I was able to roast all the veg on one sheet pan and used a pot of water that I had already cooked pasta in for my daughters. But all the prep and mess was worth it. Looking forward to lunch today.

    Reply

  17. Maclean Nash

    HOLY GUYS!
    I made this for dinner tonight and it was ah-mazing!
    I couldn’t find farro so I used pot barley instead and it was delicious!
    I will be making this again. and again. and again!
    Thank you, Joy!

    Reply

  22. but i'm hungry

    So, can I ask a probably silly question? How different is farro from regular old wheat berries? I have wheat berries in the fridge, would that make a good substitute? I’d imagine so, but you know… keeping track of wheat berry varieties is tough. :) This sounds so good!

    Reply

  24. Kathryn

    This looks so good! I’m the same way when it comes to meal prep. There’s just no way I’m coming home from work to cook a meal, but I can bring myself to cook one big meal once a week and keep it in the fridge. I haven’t had farro before but it looks so good – this recipe seems like the perfect excuse to give it a try!

    x Kathryn

    Reply

  27. Ciao Florentina

    I love cauliflower , but I can’t give up on the idea of eggs of dinner, so after I roast my cauliflower, just before I’m ready to take it out of the oven, I pour in a few lightly beaten eggs over the top. That’s having your cake and eating too haha!

    Reply

  35. Paula

    Something about this makes me want it immediately. I can’t wait to make it! Finding meatless dishes that my husband finds acceptable can be difficult, but how can you go wrong with this??

    Reply

  36. Breshana

    Hmm, I would give it a try. I not the biggest fan of beets (except for in smoothies loaded with fruit) and feta (only in very small amounts). It looks extremely healthy though.

    Reply

  38. Girl Named Allyn

    Your maj is a meal prep champ, so hopefully she’s cheering you on. Love this salad. I’ve been trying to modify our meal planning so that I’m not cooking every night, but also so we’re not just eating frozen dumplings and rice every night that I don’t feel like cooking (sooooo tasty). Farro is so perfect for this!

    Reply

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