Farro Salad with Figs and Peaches

Yes I know. You are all impatiently waiting for pumpkins, apples, casseroles, and all things baked. Well hold your horses folks, it’s going to be 90 degrees here today and I just can’t discuss pumpkins and apple pie until it’s a little cooler. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m totally excited to start sharing fall food, but let’s wait just one more week, okay? Okay! Instead lets talk about this Farro Salad with Figs and Peaches.

Where to start? Farro, have you tried this stuff, because seriously it blew my mind!

Farro is a whole grain similar to wheat berries and in case you didn’t know, I LOVE wheat berries. See my Wheat Berry & Wild Rice Salad with Strawberries & Basil if you are interested in trying them. However, farro is sort of the new IT grain and I’m completely on board with it. I love the chewiness that it has along with a slightly nutty flavor (sort of matches my personality). It’s perfect for salads and is a great replacement for rice. One big draw that farro has over wheat berries is that it takes about half the amount of time to cook, 30 minutes of cooking and you have yourself a nice big pot of delicious whole grain farro! Okay enough about farro, lets move on to the fresh figs and peaches. Umm have you ever tried a fresh fig? My guess is many of you haven’t and up until a few years ago I hadn’t either. I mean look at them, they’re brownish, blackish, purplish, awkwardly shaped, and really not all that attractive. I remember I was at a farmers market with my mom and a lady was giving out samples of fresh figs. At first I turned my nose up to it a little because I don’t really care for the dried ones much. But who am I to turn down a free sample! I was so surprised at the sweetness of the fig, it was nothing like what I thought it would taste like. From that point on I was hooked on them, and you should be too!

Well you all are aware of my peach obsession and it continues in this Farro Salad with Figs and Peaches. I really don’t know what I’m going to do when peach season is over. It’s days are numbered and I’m getting a little panicky and putting them in everything I possibly can, Whole Wheat Waffles with Bourbon Peaches, Skinny Peach Milkshakes, Honey Peach Frozen Yogurt….Ahhhhhh! I can’t stop! I’m thinking this weekend I may need to go buy a whole bunch and freeze them so I can have them until next summer.

Anyways, the combination of the peaches and figs in this salad adds the perfect amount of fresh, fruity sweetness to the nutty farro, toasted pecans, the slightly sweet, not too salty, and just a little acidic balsamic vinaigrette, and the tangy goat cheese. Oh yeah there’s goat cheese in this salad, booya! Because what salad isn’t complete without a little cheese! Gosh I love cheese. Thank God for cows, goats, and sheep!

Hold tight just a little longer my friends and lets savor the last of the delicious summer meals, because before you know it we’ll be 2 months into winter and complaining about the cold and how we miss our peaches…oh wait maybe that’s just me.

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Yield: 4 servings

Farro Salad with Figs and Peaches

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Whole grain farro adds great texture and nuttiness to this end of summer salad filled with fresh peaches and figs!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

For the Salad

• 1 cup uncooked farro
• 1/2 cup peaches, diced
• 1/2 cup fresh figs, diced
• 1/4 cup toasted pecans, chopped
• 1/4 cup green onion, thinly sliced
• 2 ounces of goat cheese, crumbled

For the Balsamic Vinaigrette

• 3 T. white balsamic vinegar
• 1 T. grapeseed oil
• 1 t. honey
• 1 t. dijon mustard
• 1/2 t. kosher salt
• Black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Cook the farro according to the package instructions.
2. Once the farro is cooked, rinse and drain it under cool water, then transfer to a large bowl.
3. Add the remaining salad ingredients to the farro and toss together gently.
4. In a small bowl whisk together all of the ingredients for the balsamic vinaigrette.
5. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and toss together.
6. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat.