Charlie Bird’s Farro Salad

By Melissa Clark

Updated July 2, 2025

  • Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Cyd Raftus McDowell.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
45 minutes
Rating
5(11,443)
Comments
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There are two essential steps to a stellar farro salad. The first is cooking the farro with enough salt and aromatics so that it delicious before you combine it with the rest of the ingredients. The second is to use very good olive oil in the dressing. This farro salad, from the restaurant Charlie Bird in SoHo, hits both these marks. The chef Ryan Hardy cooks the farro in apple cider seasoned with bay leaves and plenty of salt, which renders it good enough to eat on its own. But it’s even better after he adds loads of olive oil, plus pistachio nuts and Parmesan cheese to make it even richer. Then, before serving, he folds in fresh vegetables to brighten it up: juicy tomatoes, radishes, arugula and plenty of herbs. There are many farro salads of this ilk out there. This is one of the best.

Featured in: A Stellar Farro Salad From Charlie Bird

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Ingredients

Yield:6 servings

  • 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

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

32 grams carbs; 8 milligrams cholesterol; 398 calories; 17 grams monosaturated 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

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
11,443 user ratings
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Comments

PSP

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.

anichila

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.)

E

This is such a fantastic recipe, although as others noted, the salt added in to the farro is too much, especially once you put the salty parmesan on top. I roasted some sweet potato in chunks to add instead of the tomatoes to make a more autumn-y salad, I thought it was delicious and wished I had made more of the farro to make it last longer! The base easily lasted 5 days in my fridge and made for delicious lunches at the office.

Ich

One of the best things I've made from this site! Amazing how good it was on days 2 and 3.

sarah m.

I gave this 5 stars because of the rave reviews and I didn't want to skew with a bad rating. I misread the directions and used cider vinegar. I couldn't understand the high ratings as the vinegar over powered the farro. It wasn't until I rechecked the ratings and realized my mistake. I added all kinds of ingredients to ameliorate the salad. I added extra olive oil, some mayo, some sour cream and an assortment of fresh vegetable and herbs. Next time I will try the real recipe.

Missie T.

If using wegmans farro do not use 3 cups of liquid to one cup of farro. The farro directions say 2 c water to one cup farro.

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