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If you only ever learn one cold grain, learn farro. It is the one that does not let you down after two days in the fridge — where couscous compacts and rice goes chalky, farro is still distinctly chewy on day four. The reason is structural: it is a whole wheat berry with the bran largely intact, so the starch that retrogrades is wrapped in something that does not.
This version is the summer one — tomato, mozzarella, basil — which is really a caprese that has been given enough bulk to be lunch.
What makes it work
- Salt the boiling water like pasta. Farro is cooked loose in abundant water and drained, not absorption-cooked. Unsalted water gives a grain that can never be fixed afterwards.
- Dress it hot. The moment it drains, while it is still steaming, is when it drinks oil and vinegar. Dress it cold and the dressing sits on the outside and pools at the bottom of the container.
- Salt the tomatoes separately and throw the liquid away. A cut tomato releases a startling amount of water over ten minutes. Let that happen in a sieve, not in your salad.
- Know which farro you bought. Pearled (perlato) is the common supermarket one and takes 15–20 minutes. Semi-pearled takes 25. Whole farro takes 40 minutes and wants an overnight soak. The bag rarely says in English; if it cooks in under 20 minutes it is pearled.
Ingredients
Serves 4 as a main.
- 250 g / 1¼ cups pearled farro
- 400 g / 14 oz ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks
- 200 g / 7 oz fresh mozzarella, torn — bocconcini or a ball, drained well
- A large handful of basil, torn at the last minute
- 1 small red onion, sliced paper thin, or 60 g pickled red onion
- 60 ml / ¼ cup olive oil
- 30 ml / 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 60 g / ½ cup table olives, optional
- Salt, coarse black pepper
Method
Boil the farro in well-salted water, uncovered, for 15–20 minutes, until it is tender with a definite chew left. Drain it and do not rinse — the surface starch is what makes the dressing cling.
While it drains, whisk the oil, vinegar, mustard and a good pinch of salt. Tip the hot farro into a wide bowl and pour over two thirds of the dressing. Toss and leave to cool, spread out rather than heaped, which both cools it fast and stops it steaming itself soft.
Meanwhile, salt the tomato chunks and leave them in a sieve for 10 minutes. Discard the liquid.
When the farro is at room temperature, fold in the tomatoes, mozzarella, onion and olives with the rest of the dressing. Basil goes in at the table — it blackens within an hour of meeting acid.
Notes
- Keeps 4 days without the mozzarella and basil, 2 days with. If you are batching for the week, dress the farro and stop there; the fresh things go in each morning.
- Farro is not gluten-free. Neither is it a species of spelt, despite the label on many bags — Italian farro covers einkorn, emmer and spelt, and emmer is what you usually get.
- Swaps that need no other change: pearl barley (add 10 minutes), quinoa (much softer result), wheat berries (add 20 minutes).
Elsewhere on the site
The formula, the grain table, and the safety rules: Cold Meals
Ingredients: farro · fresh mozzarella · olive oil · red wine vinegar · dijon mustard · pickled red onion · table olives
Nearby: barley salad · bulgur bowl · orzo salad · caprese sandwich