Charlie Bird’s Farro Salad
Updated July 2, 2025
Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Cyd Raftus McDowell.
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
1 cup farro
1 cup apple cider
2 teaspoons kosher salt, more as needed
2 bay leaves
8 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
70 grams Parmesan cheese, shaved with a vegetable peeler (½ cup)
70 grams chopped pistachio nuts (½ cup)
2 cups arugula leaves
1 cup parsley or basil leaves, torn
1 cup mint leaves
¾ cup halved cherry or grape tomatoes
⅓ cup thinly sliced radish
Maldon or other flaky sea salt, for finishing
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
32 grams carbs; 8 milligrams cholesterol; 399 calories; 17 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 27 grams fat; 6 grams fiber; 409 milligrams sodium; 12 grams protein; 8 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
In a medium saucepan, bring farro, apple cider, salt, bay leaves and 2 cups water to a simmer. Simmer until farro is tender and liquid evaporates, about 30 minutes. If all the liquid evaporates before the farro is done, add a little more water. Let farro cool, then discard bay leaves.
- Step 2
In a salad bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Add farro, cheese and pistachio nuts and mix well. This salad base will keep for up to 4 hours at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator (bring to room temperature before serving). Just before serving, fold in arugula, herbs, tomatoes, radish and flaky salt to taste.
Private Notes
Comments
When discussing these notes and peoples' tribulations with farro cooking time my wife - something of a farro aficionado - pointed out that there are pearled and non-pearled versions available. Apparently the non-pearled takes twice as long to cook. Perhaps this is the source of confusion over cooking times?
I used pearled (without knowing the difference at the time) and it was perfect - a little nutty with a very slight crunch but perfectly edible - in 30 minutes using hard cider as liquid.
This was good but with some adjustments:
Made this with Trader Joe's 10-minute farro so I used 1C apple cider and 1C water and only simmered for 15 minutes. I cut down on the olive oil and did NOT add salt. (The first time I made this the 2 tsp of salt overpowered everything and I had to throw the farro out.)
In case you don't have apple cider in your larder, I found that adding 1/2 to 3/4 C of apple cider vinegar, 1 to 2 tablespoons of honey and adequate water to equal a total of 3 cups of liquid reproduced the sweet tang that makes the farro so delicious in this salad.
I've made this twice now, and it will continue to stay in the rotation. As noted below, I found the full 2 tsp of salt when cooking the Farro made it unpleasantly salty - 1/2 tsp was enough. This last time, I used frisee instead of arugula, and almonds instead of pistachios, and it was still great. Seems adaptable to just about whatever hearty green + nut combination you would like to use.
Made this last night to serve with some sauteed chicken breasts, and it was a big hit. Used unsweetened apple juice in place of the cider. Added about 1/2 teaspoon of Dijon mustard to the dressing as an emulsifier. Otherwise, followed the recipe. My farro was pearled, and the cooking time was about right. I used the full 2 tsp of Kosher salt and my wife, who is sensitive to salt, had no complaints. I wonder if some of the comments about too much salt come from people who were using table salt.
Made this exactly as per the recipe and used apple cider. This was truly awful. The cider made the farro far too sweet and the flavors were just weird together. I can count on one hand NYT recipes that have been a "hard no" for us and that I have literally thrown out. This adds one to the list.