My Favorite Salad: Farro w/ Arugula, Feta & Marcona Almonds

One holiday down, 2 more to go.

I will try and eat light lunches for the rest of the month, so I can enjoy all the culinary delights this holiday season brings..........cakes, cookies, lots of wine and overindulgence.

This is a salad you will want to eat everyday for the rest of the week, it's that good!

It is basically a chopped Greek salad, only with that wonderful Italian grain "farro" from Umbria or Abruzzo and those delicious Marcona almonds from Spain. I love it.

Marcona almonds are so different from regular almonds. They have a much higher fat content, are rounder and plumper (is that a word?) than California almonds, and are more oily and sweet, a little pricier too, but a little goes a long way.

I will give you approximate amounts, since I don't know how hungry you are, or how many hungry salad eaters are joining you for lunch.

My Favorite Salad: (makes enough for 4 people)

1 1/2 cups of farro
1 lb. of baby arugula, washed and chopped
1/4 cup of kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1/4 cup of Marcona almonds
1/4 cup of good quality feta cheese, grated into snow
1/2 cup of cherry tomatoes, quartered

Dressing:

3 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp honey
pinch of sea salt & pepper

Whisk dressing ingredients w/ a fork and set aside.

Cook the farro as per package instructions.
Not sure why some of your farro takes hours to cook, mine takes 25 minutes, and that's without the recommended 30 minute pre-soak.

Drain and rinse the farro in a colander under cool water, and add to a large bowl.

Chop everything into bite size pieces, the arugula, the olives, the almonds and the tomatoes and add to the bowl with the farro.

Drizzle a little dressing over everything and season w/ sea salt & black pepper.

Toss lightly and serve right away.

Enjoy!