Farro Salad with Butternut Squash, Brussels Sprouts and Leeks

Farro cooks up similarly to rice or quinoa, requiring just a few extra minutes on the stovetop. But be sure to buy pearled farro and not whole farro, or else you’ll have to perform an overnight soak and you’ll need a longer cooking time as well.

I’ve also been getting into raw brussels sprouts lately. Their flavor is pretty mild when raw. But if that’s not your thing, you could certainly roast them up with the butternut squash and leeks.

Ingredients

For the Salad
4 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 leek, bottom white portion thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. allspice
1 cup pearled farro
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups brussels spouts, thinly sliced
1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
6 tablespoons hazelnuts, roughly chopped
For the Dressing
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
3 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1-2 tablespoons water
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt

Instructions

Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees. Toss the butternut squash, sliced leeks, minced garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper and allspice together in a large bowl. Then spread everything out on a large rimmed baking sheet and transfer the baking sheet to your pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes, stirring once halfway through the cooking time. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.
While the squash is roasting, bring the farro and the water to a boil in a heavy bottom saucepan. Then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook, covered, about 25-30 minutes, or until all the water has been absorbed. Remove the saucepan from the heat and set it aside to cool slightly. Note: if you have whole farro instead of pearled farro, this will require an overnight soak and a longer cooking time. Follow the package instructions.
Combine all of the ingredients for the dressing until smooth, using 1 or 2 tablespoons of water to thin it to your desired consistency.
In a large bowl, combine the roasted vegetables, cooked farro, sliced brussels sprouts, cilantro and dressing, starting with about half of the dressing and adding more to suit your taste preferences, until everything is well coated.
Transfer the salad to serving plates and top with some of the chopped hazelnuts. Serve immediately.
The salad can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 1-2 days. Leftovers can be eaten cold or re-warmed slightly.