Recipe
Insalata di farro with tuna, tomatoes, and rocket
Farro is the grain that Roman legionaries ate on their way to conquer most of Europe, and having tried this salad, we understand why those campaigns went as they did. Farro has the chew of a grain that respects itself, a subtle nuttiness that is miles ahead of rice, and the handy property of staying good for days in the fridge without collapsing into the sad porridge of a neglected quinoa. Toss it with tuna, cherry tomatoes, and rocket, and you have the lunchbox equivalent of bringing a very competent friend to a very lazy meeting.
Our relationship with farro salads started on the Tuscan coast one August, when our uncle, a man whose main hobbies are cycling and eating the same thing every day, revealed that his entire summer diet was one giant bowl of insalata di farro from which he scooped an unvarying portion at lunch each day for a full month. We watched him with the fascination of someone observing a religious practice. By the end of the week we were hooked too, and by the end of the holiday we had each eaten our own body weight in chewy ancient grain and were eyeing his Tupperware with the same devotion he reserved for his bicycle.
This is now our Sunday meal-prep dish, the thing we make in a batch on Sunday evening and pull from the fridge for four lunches during the week. It travels well, it gets better overnight (the grain absorbs the olive oil and the tomato juices beautifully), and it has just enough colour to make you feel smug when you open the container at a grey office desk on Tuesday. If you can't find farro, use pearl spelt or pearl barley; they are close cousins and nobody will know. If you can't find decent cherry tomatoes, wait until tomato season and do something else in the meantime. Bad cherry tomatoes are sadder than no cherry tomatoes at all.
- Prep 10 min
- Cook 25 min
- Serves 2
- Cost €
Method
- 1
Rinse the farro under cold water. Tip into a pot of well-salted boiling water and cook uncovered until tender but still with a chew.
22 min
- 2
Drain the farro, rinse briefly under cold water to stop the cooking, drain well. Tip onto a wide plate to cool faster.
3 min
- 3
While the farro cooks, slice the red onion thin and soak it in a bowl of cold water for 10 minutes to mellow the bite.
10 min
- 4
Halve the cherry tomatoes, put them in a big mixing bowl with a good pinch of salt, and let them sit for 5 minutes so they release juice.
5 min
- 5
Drain the onion and add it to the tomatoes along with the capers and olives.
1 min
- 6
Tip the cooled farro into the bowl and toss everything together.
1 min
- 7
Dress with olive oil, lemon juice, a pinch of salt, and a good crack of pepper. Toss again. Taste, adjust.
1 min
- 8
Just before serving (or just before closing the lunchbox), add the rocket and the flaked tuna, and toss very gently so the tuna stays in chunks.
1 min
Variations
Swap the tuna for 150 g of mozzarella cubes or crumbled feta (no longer dairy-free). Add diced cucumber for crunch. A small spoon of Dijon whisked into the dressing adds punch. For an autumn version, swap tomatoes for roasted butternut squash and rocket for baby spinach. Keeps 3 days in the fridge; actively improves by day two.