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).
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.
I love roasted cauliflower. I just really love it.
Roasted beets are cooled and peeled and then it’s bowl time.
All in. All of it IN.
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.
Let’s just accept the fact that beets make everything pink.
Fingers, farro, and everything in between.
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.
PrintRoasted Cauliflower, Beet, and Farro Salad
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 40
- Total Time: 1 hour
Ingredients
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
- 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.
- Place a rack in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- 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.
- 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.
- Remove both the roasted beets and roasted cauliflower from the oven and allow to rest until cool enough to handle.
- Peel the beets and slice into chunks.
- In a large bowl toss together cooked farro, roasted beets, roasted cauliflower, salad greens, and crumbled feta.
- In a small jar with a tight fitting lid, shake together all of the vinaigrette ingredients. Taste and season.
- Pour the vinaigrette over the salad. Toss and serve.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6
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!
★★★★★
shendrixson
Winter is still a very real thing here in St. Louis, so I packed this salad up for lunch today. #winning #greatflavorcombo
Thanks Joy!
TimedEating
Beautiful recipe and pictures as always – I do so love reading your blog. Farro is one of my absolute favourites – I love cooking either wild mushroom farro or spiced farro with monkfish and pea/carrot [urees. Here’s the recipe if you’re interested! https://www.timedeating.co.uk/springtime-lunch-ham-monkfish-lemon
Emily
Made it tonight! Delicious! Already looking forward to leftovers.
Iclal | Passion & Paranoia
I love love beets! Can’t wait to try this salad!
http://www.heartsandcouture.com
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!
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!
Passade
Hi, the Roasted cauliflower salad is just awesome! The photography is just beautiful and natural. Keep posting such recipes.
Grista
This is a nice product, Can you tell me the Leaves of the dish. I’ll try to find in My country India. Cabbage is very Cheap In our City 1$/ 2 KG
Mi
this looks amazing! I love the combination of colors and textures!
atasteofmadess
This looks amazing! I am all about having beets in everything :)
theleftoversproject
YUM looks amazing! Great heart winter salad. Thanks for sharing.
aspoonfulofnature
This pictures are just amazing <3<3 love your blog
https://aspoonfulofnature.wordpress.com/
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.
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!