This spring salad combines chewy nutty farro, crunchy sweet snap peas, kale, and salty/briny olives and feta for a simple meal-worthy salad. Olive oil, lemon, and salt get added directly to the bowl for a light and bright dressing. Top with plenty of crunchy toasted almonds and fresh spring-time herbs!
Ingredient Highlight
Sugar snap peas!These sweet, crunchy spring peas are rich in protein, fiber, vitamin C, vitamin A, B vitamins, and iron. Try to buy these in season from a local farmer – the taste (and nutrition) is 10x better!
Servings 4
Prep Time 10 minutes 
Cook Time 25 minutes Ingredients
- 1 cup farro (about 2 ½ cups cooked)
- 2 cups thinly sliced sugar snap peas
- 3 cups finely chopped kale (from about 1 medium/large bunch)*
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
- ½ cup chopped green olives
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- ½ cup toasted almonds or walnuts, chopped
- Fresh mint, dill, parsley, cilantro, or basil (optional)
- Black pepper
- *Finely chop your kale in a high-speed blender using the tamper tool! I love doing this when using raw kale in salads because then you don’t get big pieces of fibrous kale.
- Note: ~ if making ahead, be sure to read the “leftovers and repurposing” section.
- Add protein! ~ Top with a couple of boiled or fried eggs or any cooked protein of choice.
Instructions
- In a medium pot, add the farro and enough water to cover by at least 2-inches. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer rapidly for 25-30 minutes, or until tender (grains have burst open a bit). Drain and transfer to a large bowl to cool off.
- In that same bowl, add snap peas, kale, feta, olives, oil, lemon, and salt. Mix to combine. Taste and add more salt or lemon, if needed.
- Serve topped with nuts, fresh herbs (if using), more cheese if you have it, and black pepper!
Items you can prep ahead (optional)
- Cook 1 cup farro
- Toast ½ cup almonds or walnuts
- Thinly slice 2 cups snap peas
- Finely chop 3 cups kale (use your blender here!)
- Chop ½ cup green olives
Substitutions:
- To make gluten-free, use a gluten-free pasta in place of the farro. You could also substitute the farro with quinoa.
- To make vegan, skip the cheese and use 1 cup olives.
- While I love snap peas in here, you can use any raw crunchy spring veg (like radishes, celery, etc…).
- Use apple cider vinegar in place of lemon juice.
Storage:
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 6 days.
Leftovers + Repurposing:
- This salad (and most grain salads) are best served at room temperature but are also fine to eat cold right out of the fridge. To take the chill off, I like to pop grain salads in the microwave for 10-20 seconds.
- Brighten up leftovers by mixing a generous squeeze of lemon or splash of vinegar into the salad and top with lots of fresh herbs, toasted nuts, and more feta if you have it.
