This hearty grain salad combines chewy farro, roasted sweet potatoes/onion, raw fennel, lots of herbs, and some cheese for good measure. It all gets tossed in some olive oil, vinegar, and salt for a super speedy make-ahead meal that you can eat throughout the week. There’s a good amount of protein from the combination of whole grains, nuts, and cheese, but you can up the protein by adding chopped boiled egg, leftover salmon, lentils/beans, or a side of animal protein.
Ingredient Highlight
Sweet potatoes (yams)! are my complex carb of choice and one of my favorite veggies to always have on hand. I’ll often eat them as a snack or lunch with a fried egg and avocado. They’re loaded with fiber and potassium and high in vitamin B1, B6, A and C.
Servings 4 People
Prep Time 10 minutes 
Cook Time 30 minutes Ingredients
- 1 cup farro
- 1 lb sweet potatoes (yams), peeled, cut into bite-sized cubes
- ½ red onion, cut into thick wedges
- ¼ cup + 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 ½ tsp kosher salt, divided
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 fennel bulb, halved lengthwise, cored, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
- ½ cup loosely packed fresh herbs (parsley or cilantro)*
- ½ cup grated parmesan or crumbled feta cheese
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup chopped toasted nuts or seeds (almonds, walnuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds)
- *The herbs are acting as our “greens” in this salad so I like to leave them whole, but feel free to chop them up if you don’t like them whole.
A note on nuts in salads:
- I usually like to add my nuts freshly into grain salads because I find they get soggy and lose their crunch if you mix them in and eat as leftovers. You can definitely mix them in if you want!
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450F or 425F convection. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- 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.
- Add sweet potatoes to ¾ of the baking sheet and onions to the remaining ¼. Drizzle 2 tablespoons olive oil mostly over the sweet potatoes and a bit onto the onions. Sprinkle sweet potatoes with about ½ teaspoon salt, smoked paprika, and garlic powder and sprinkle onions with ¼ teaspoon salt. Toss each to coat. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until browned in spots.
- Add sweet potatoes to the large bowl along with the fennel, herbs, cheese, remaining ¾ teaspoons salt, remaining ¼ cup olive oil, and vinegar. Toss to coat. Taste and add more salt or vinegar if it tastes flat.
- Serve it up topped with plenty of nuts and/or seeds.
Items you can prep ahead (optional)
- Peel and chop 1 lb sweet potatoes
- Slice ½ red onion into thick wedges
- Thinly slice 1 fennel bulb (store in cold water).
- Toast ½ cup nuts or seeds
- Grate or crumble your cheese.
Substitutions:
- To make gluten-free, substitute farro with brown rice or quinoa (or your favorite whole grain).
- To make vegan, skip the cheese and add at least ¼ teaspoon more salt (to taste) and extra nuts. Adding avocado to serve would also be nice.
- Substitute sweet potato with any winter squash, cauliflower, or any mix of roasted veggies.
- The roasted onion adds a delicious sweet onion flavor, but you could also skip it.
Storage:
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Leftovers + Repurposing:
- Enjoy right out of the fridge, though these kinds of salads always taste best at room temp.
- Taste and add a splash of vinegar or lemon to wake up leftovers. Top with more nuts and cheese, if you’d like.
- Top with a fried egg!
