Tuscan Farro and Bean Salad

I made this wonderful salad recently.

 I had tried it at my friend's house and loved it.  I served it with some marinated grilled pork and cucumber salad.

This is Bailey who I was watching this past week while my son Tim, DIL Julie, and Avery and Ella were on vacation in Costa Rica.

Look who tricked his Mom, who thought he was getting out of the Marines on June 18th!!  Connor surprised her and the family and came on the 10th!  He drove straight through from San Diego to Texas!!  Cissy recorded the cutest video of Molly finding Connor up in his bed. 

Of course I had to go over and give him a big hug!  He had been relaxing in the pool.

Yield: A crowd

Author: Kitty, but the recipe is adapted from my friend Heidi

Tuscan Farro and Bean Salad

Farro is an ancient grain and is very tasty in this healthy salad. It's great as a side dish, but is also nice for a quick lunch.

Ingredients

• 1 cup farro
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 can Cannellini beans (I used Great Northern beans), drained
  
• 1/4 cup finely diced red bell pepper
• 3 T. quartered, pitted Kalamata olives
• 1 cup chopped and loosely packed fresh flat leaf parsley (I used a couple of tablespoons of dried parsley)
• 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh mint, chopped (I used a couple of tablespoons)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 t. sea salt
• 2 ounces Feta cheese, crumbled (I used more)

Instructions

1. Rinse and drain farro. Bring the cups of chicken broth to a boil, add farro, lower heat, cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Drain off excess liquid and stir in 1 T. of olive oil. Chill for 1 hour.
2. Put the beans, farro, bell pepper, olives, parsley, mint, lemon juice, lemon zest, 1/4 cup olive oil, and salt in a serving bowl and stir until thoroughly combined. Chill before serving. Add a pinch more of salt if needed. Serve with feta cheese sprinkled over the top.

Notes

You may need to ask where the farro is located in the grocery store. If you can't find any, barley would make a good substitute, but I liked using the ancient grain, farro.

Thank you for your visit!  xo

I am sharing this with:

Love Your Creativity Link Party

Full Plate Thursday at Miz Helen's Country Cottage

Encouraging Hearts and Home