Farro Salad With Smoked Trout and Kale

Updated January 30, 2026

Andrew Bui for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Kaitlin Wayne.
Ready In
25 min
Rating
5(71)
Comments
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Chewy, nutty farro absorbs an unexpectedly bold dressing made from olive brine and apple cider vinegar in this substantial grain salad. Raisins plump and pickle in the mixture, while toasted pistachios add crunch and tender greens provide freshness. Flaked smoked trout transforms it into a complete meal, but hot-smoked salmon, torn rotisserie chicken or fresh mozzarella would make welcome no-cook substitutes.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • Salt

  • 1 cup quick-cooking farro or regular farro (see Tip)

  • ½ cup pitted green olives, roughly chopped, plus ¼ cup olive brine

  • ¼ cup raisins

  • ¼ cup apple cider vinegar

  • Crushed red pepper

  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

  • ¼ cup roasted, salted pistachios, roughly chopped

  • 1 small bunch dill, chopped

  • 4 to 5 ounces smoked trout fillets (drained, if canned)

  • 2 large handfuls baby kale (about 2 ounces)

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

41 grams carbs; 19 milligrams cholesterol; 422 calories; 15 grams monosaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 24 grams fat; 7 grams fiber; 382 milligrams sodium; 15 grams protein; 10 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

    Bring a medium pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add farro and cook until tender (10 to 30 minutes depending on the brand), then drain well.

    1. Step 2

      Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine olives, olive brine, raisins and vinegar. Stir in a pinch each of salt and crushed red pepper and let sit for at least 5 minutes to allow the raisins to pickle. 

    1. Step 3

      Add the drained, still-warm farro to the bowl with the olive mixture and toss well to coat. Stir in the olive oil, pistachios and dill until well combined, then taste and adjust seasonings as desired. (At this point, the farro salad can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)

    1. Step 4

      When ready to serve, break up the trout into large chunks. Add the trout and the kale to the salad and gently stir it through.

Tip
  • If using regular farro (not quick cooking), follow package instructions to cook until tender, then proceed with Step 2.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
71 user ratings
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Comments

This is delicious, nicely balanced, and adaptable. Fast and easy to throw together. I made it pretty much as-is (except I subbed smoked steelhead and added grated garlic to the vinaigrette). But there was a lot of vinaigrette in the bowl, so to soak it up I added some chopped Tuscan kale, a few sliced scallions, and some Italian parsley I needed to use up. Next time I will add some sugar snap peas as well. I think this recipe would also work with baked salmon (as opposed to smoked), or even canned sardines or tuna. It will be on regular rotation in my kitchen.

I added cucumber for a little more veg and some fresh crunch !

@Jodi Baked salmon is salmon baked in an oven. It is not smoked.

Love this! Have made it twice now, pretty much as written with these changes: 1) had dried cranberries so used those instead of raisins; 2) left out the olive oil (see below); 3) put the farro mix over a big bed of arugula and kale; drizzle oil from canned smoked trout (Trader Joe’s for the win!) over the whole thing; 4) top with smoked trout (1 can/salad/person). Such a great, quick weeknight dinner!

Pan fried 3 trout sides in butter skin side down till crispy

I made this with golden raisons because I didn't have the usual kind in the house, and I used whole farro. This was really good made with baby kale, but I think it would also be good with arugula and will try that next time. The sweet pop of the raisons was nice, but I think another dried fruit like chopped dried apricots would be good, too.

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