Farro & Pea Salad

Farro is a delicious, healthy, chewy whole grain. It takes a while to cook but is very versatile. I'd recommend making double the amount of farro you need for this recipe and use the rest creatively - I stir 1/2 cooked farro into pancake batter to make pancakes hearty and filling. They get rave reviews! If you can't find farro, wheat berries are similar and will work fine in this recipe. Even brown rice will work. 

I modified this recipe from one I saw in WholeLiving magazine.

Ingredients

Serves 4 - 6

• 1 cup farro

• 1 cup fresh peas (frozen will work fine, rinse under warm water)

• 1/2 cup spinach leaves, torn into bite-size pieces

• 1/3 cup small fresh mint leaves

• 1/3 cup almonds (optional)

• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

• 1 tablespoon plus 1 tsp fresh lemon juice

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 1 ounce goat cheese, crumbled

Directions:

1. Cook farro according to package directions and let cool to room temperature. Transfer to a large bowl.

2. As farro cooks, bring a small pot of salted water to a boil. Add peas and cook until tender, about 1 minute. Drain and run under cold water.

3. Add peas, spinach leaves, mint, almonds, and lemon zest to farro. Toss with lemon juice and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Top with goat cheese.