Why Warm Changes Everything
This warm farro salad with sausage, blistered tomatoes, and kale is my ideal transition from summer to fall salad.
Most grain salads get made, chilled, and eaten cold out of a container. Fine! But something happens when you build this one warm: the farro is still steaming when it hits the kale, which wilts the leaves just enough to soften their edge without turning them slimy. No massaging, no waiting around. The dressing soaks in instead of sitting on top. And the blistered tomatoes release their juices into the grains, so every bite tastes seasoned all the way through rather than dressed on the surface.
While you could swap in rice or quinoa, those grains don’t hold up as well and lack the pleasant chew of farro. I recommend giving it a try as written first!
A Few Things Worth Knowing About Farro
Farro comes labeled three ways, and it matters more than most packages let one.
- Pearled farro has the bran removed and cooks in 15-20 minutes.
- Semi-pearled takes about 25-30.
- Whole farro is the full grain and needs 40 minutes oe more (and benefits from a soak).
This recipe is timed for semi-pearled or whole. If all you can find it pearled, start checking at 15 minutes. You want tender with a distinct chew at the center, never mushy.
You can replace the almonds with any nuts you prefer. Even pepitas or sunflower seeds would be great. You just really want a crunchy element.
If you crowd the tomatoes, they’ll steam instead of blister.
Now for the fun part: bringing it all together!
How to Serve It
As a main, this feeds four generously and needs nothing else. As a vegetarian side without added sausage, it stretches to eight and is especially good next to herby roast chicken with crispy skin or crispy-skinned pan-seared salmon.
For a full spread, start with creamy whipped ricotta on grilled crostini and finish with a buttery peach crumble.
Hearty, flavor-packed, and so dang good! Can’t wait to hear what you think, this has become an instant favorite!
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Warm Farro Salad with Italian Sausage, Blistered Tomatoes, & Kale
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 1½ cups (280g) farro, semi-pearled or whole farro
- Kosher salt
- 1 lb (450g) mild Italian chicken sausage (about 4 links)
- 2 pints (600g) heirloom cherry or grape tomatoes
- 2 Tbsp (20ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
- 1 large shallot, thinly sliced into half moons
- 1 bunch lacinato Tuscan kale, stems removed, leaves very thinly sliced
- ½ cup (55g) slivered almonds
- 3 large scallions, very thinly sliced
- A few handfuls fresh basil torn or left whole
- ½ medium lemon, juiced, about 20ml
- ⅓ cup (30g) shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano
- Flaky sea salt
For the Dressing
- 3 Tbsp (45ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbsp (30ml) aged balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp (10ml) Dijon or whole-grain mustard
- 1 tsp (5ml) honey
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cook the farro. Heat the oven to 400°F (205°C). Bring a medium saucepan of well-salted water to a boil. Add 1½ cups (280g) farro, reduce to a simmer, and cook until tender with a little chew, 35-40 minutes. Drain in a fine-mesh strainer.
- Roast the sausage. Roast the sausages on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper until cooked through, about 12-15 minutes. Let cool for 5-10 minutes, then slice on the diagonal into thin rounds. (Short on pans, or want more flavor? See the notes for a one-skillet method.)
- Wilt the kale. Transfer the warm farro to a large serving bowl, add the kale, and toss. The residual heat will soften it just slightly. Set aside.
- Blister the tomatoes. Warm 2 Tbsp (30ml) extra-virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the tomatoes with a pinch of kosher salt and cook, undisturbed, for about 3 minutes, then toss occasionally. The tomatoes should blister and mostly burst. Add thinly sliced shallot and cook until softened, about 2-3 minutes more. Add this directly to the farro and kale, along with any pan juices.
- Prep the almonds. Add ½ cup (55g) almonds as is, or for a little more depth, toast them in a dry skillet over medium until golden and fragrant, 2-3 minutes.
- Make the dressing. Whisk together the 3 Tbsp (45ml) olive oil, 2 Tbsp (30ml) balsamic, 2 tsp (10ml) Dijon, 1 tsp (5ml) honey, ½ tsp kosher salt, and ¼ tsp black pepper until emulsified.
- Combine. To the farro and kale, add sausage, scallions, almonds, and fresh basil. Squeeze over the lemon. Pour on the dressing and toss really well.
- Finish. Add ⅓ cup (30g) shaved Parmigiano and toss again. Taste and adjust (more lemon, salt, pepper, etc.). Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and a generous pinch of flaky sea salt (and a little extra Parmigiano if you like!). Enjoy!
Notes
- Nutrition facts assume 6 servings.
- Want more flavor from one pan? Instead of roasting, remove the sausage from its casing and cook it crumbled in a skillet over medium-high heat until browned, breaking it up as you go. Transfer to a bowl, then blister the tomatoes right in the same pan. All those browned bits left behind season the tomatoes. It’s a little more hands-on, but you’re left with a deeper, more savory result.
Nutrition
Photography by: Megan McKeehan
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