Farro Salad With Blue Cheese, Pine Nuts, Tomatoes and Cucumber

Farro is a grain commonly eaten in European Countries.  It is boiled and combined with cheese and vegetables and served cold as a salad and in cooler weather faro is served cooked as in a rosotto, soups and winter comfort foods.  It looks much like a plump grain of wheat.  Vegetarians incorporate the grain in their diet for its nutritional value.


Ingredients

• For the Vinaigrette:
• 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
•  
• For the Salad:
• 10 ounces farro (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 4 cups water
• 1 small white or yellow onion, quartered
• 1 medium clove garlic, smashed
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• 1 small seedless cucumber, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup minced, fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced, fresh lemon thyme or regular thyme
• 3 ounces crumbled blue cheese
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

For the Vinaigrette: Whisk together ingredients for the vinaigrette in a small bowl, seasoning generously with salt and pepper. Reserve.

For the Salad: Place farro and water in a medium saucepan with onion, garlic, carrot, and 2 teaspoons salt and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover, and simmer until farro is just tender, about 20 minutes. Drain, discard onion, garlic, and carrot and transfer to a bowl to cool.

Gently fold remaining salad ingredients into cooled farro. Add vinaigrette, starting with a few tablespoons at a time. Taste, season with salt and pepper, and add additional vinaigrette as needed. Serve immediately.