Charlie Bird’s Farro Salad

By Melissa Clark

Updated July 2, 2025

Charlie Bird’s Farro Salad
Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Cyd Raftus McDowell.
Total Time
45 minutes
Rating
5(11,106)
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
  • 1cup farro
  • 1cup apple cider
  • 2teaspoons kosher salt, more as needed
  • 2bay leaves
  • 8tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 70grams Parmesan cheese, shaved with a vegetable peeler (½ cup)
  • 70grams chopped pistachio nuts (½ cup)
  • 2cups arugula leaves
  • 1cup parsley or basil leaves, torn
  • 1cup mint leaves
  • ¾cup halved cherry or grape tomatoes
  • ⅓cup thinly sliced radish
  • Maldon or other flaky sea salt, for finishing
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

398 calories; 27 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 17 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 32 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 12 grams protein; 409 milligrams sodium

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
11,106 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.

AND in CDMX

The house was not a fan. I think part of the problem (not the only one) was the large volume of whole-leaf herbs. (My husband literally had a pile on his napkin of those he had removed.) Loosely chopping the parsley and ripping the mint would help.

Alicia

Stellar salad! I do think the cider is necessary for the farro. Used pearled farro and cooked about 20 minutes. I think you could leave out the bay leaf, didn't think it imparted much flavor. Also think the radish wasn't necessary but was visually appealing. Used basil and would next time instead of parsley. Will definitely make again!

Ann Bee

Have made this several times. I sub hard cider for the apple cider. You absolutely need all salt; halve it if using Morton. I double the tomato and radish and slow roast the tomatoes so they’re more flavorful and a bit more dry. If you know you won’t eat this all in one go, portion the arugula and herbs per serving—that way you won’t end up with soggy, browning greens in this otherwise sturdy salad.

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