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The now famous Charlie Bird Farro Salad is a signature dish of the namesake restaurant in New York City’s Soho neighborhood. There are a couple of reasons why the recipe captured my attention: first, Melissa Clark calls it ‘one of the best’ farro salads; second, that the farro is cooked in a new-to-me savory sweet concoction of apple cider, bay leaves, and salt.
You can infuse an amazing amount of flavor into whole grains by cooking them along with aromatics and in liquid other than water. And though it does benefit from the extra flavorful farro, that’s just a fraction of what makes the Charlie Bird Farro Salad sensational.
What makes Charlie Bird’s Farro Salad so good?
To start with, the cooked and cooled farro is tossed in a zingy blend of fresh lemon juice, good olive oil, and salt. (This can be done up to one day ahead, making it a great salad for get togethers and weekday lunches.) Then you add an impressive array of ingredients: crunchy pistachios, sweet cherry tomatoes, peppery arugula, radishes, parsley, and mint.
Reading that list, you may be wondering (like I was) if they’ll work together. Spoiler alert: they do! The salad’s flavor is impressively well balanced. And with so many colors and textures, the salad is beautiful too.
A Few Recipe Changes
Though I stuck to the major components of the recipe as Melissa Clark wrote it, I did make a few changes thanks to the recipe’s comment thread.
It’s always entertaining and often enlightening to read the comment section of recipes from the New York Times. (You may remember the one I talked about with these Butter Cookies.) Readers weigh in with candid criticism and questions and offer tips and tricks of their own. This recipe’s comment thread had a couple of themes: that the type of farro wasn’t specified, and that the farro base was too salty.
After testing the recipe both ways, I agree with many readers about the salt, so I’ve reduced it by half. And for the farro, I recommend whole farro (see my How to Cook Farro post to learn all about farro varieties and how to cook them). You can use pearled or semi-pearled farro in this recipe, but will need to reduce the cooking time by a bit more than half (see recipe note for specific instructions).
The final change was to toss the pistachios and cheese in with the other ingredients just before serving, instead of adding them with the dressing in the beginning. I didn’t want the cheese to meld into the dressing or have the pistachios lose their crunch in an overnight stint in the refrigerator.
More of My Favorite Main Course Salads
- Fregola Sarda with Radicchio and Hazelnuts
- Greek Farro Salad
- Kale and Quinoa Salad
- and so many more in this Main Course Salads collection
How to Make Charlie Bird Farro Salad
Step 1: Combine farro, apple cider, water, salt and bay leaves in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer 30-35 minutes until farro is tender. Let cool. When cool, discard bay leaf and fluff with fork.
Step 2: Whisk together lemon juice and olive oil in a large salad bowl.
Step 3: Add farro to dressing and toss to coat. To serve, add remaining ingredients (cheese, pistachio nuts, arugula, parsley, mint, tomatoes, and radish), gently fold to combine. Season with flaky sea salt to taste and serve.
Charlie Bird Farro Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole farro see recipe note #1 for using semi-pearled farro
- 1 cup apple cider
- 2 cups cold water
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 lemon juiced (about 2 tablespoons)
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 1/2 ounces parmesan cheese coarsely grated or shaved with a vegetable peeler (about 1/2 cup)
- 2 1/2 ounces chopped pistachio nuts about 1/2 cup
- 3 ounces baby arugula leaves
- 1 ounce flat leaf parsley or basil leaves, torn, about 1 cup
- 1 ounce mint leaves torn, about 1 cup
- 3/4 cup cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes, halved
- 1/3 cup thinly sliced radish
- flaky sea salt such as Maldon, for finishing
Instructions
- Bring farro, apple cider, water, salt and bay leaves to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat; let simmer 30-35 minutes, or until farro is tender and liquid evaporates. Set aside to cool. (recipe note #2) Once farro is cool, discard bay leaves and fluff with fork.
- In a large salad bowl, whisk together lemon juice and olive oil. Add farro and gently toss to coat. (You can keep this salad base for 4 hours at room temperature or refrigerate overnight. Bring farro mixture to room temperature before adding remaining ingredients.)
- When you're ready to serve, gently fold in cheese, pistachio nuts, arugula, parsley, mint, tomatoes, and radish. Season to taste with flaky sea salt and serve.
Notes
- If you use semi-pearled farro, reduce amount of water to 1 2/3 cups (total 2 2/3 cups total liquid between apple cider and water) and check package for cooking time, typically 10-15 minutes.
- If you want to speed the cooling process; lower the pan with cooked farro into an ice bath (taking care to avoid any water spilling into the farro); gently stir to cool farro quickly.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I used Ina’s recipe from her book and I found it way too salty. I wish I had read your review before so I could adjust the amount of salt. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
My pleasure, Linda!
For those seeking a gluten-free option, you can substitute buckwheat for the farro, it has a much closer consistency and taste than quinoa does. yes, buckwheat is gluten-free despite the confusing name.
I had this salad at a party in Los Angeles(I live in Michigan), where I was a guest and did not know the host. I googled all of the ingredients and found this amazing salad.
Hi Laurie! So glad you enjoyed this salad and buckwheat is a great suggestion.
Love this recipe but To make this recipe gluten free, II’m thinking of subbing quinos for farro. Would i cook quinoa in apple cider (rather than water)?
Any other changes?
Manu thanks!
Hi Joan! Quinoa is a great, gluten-free swap in for farro in this recipe. Since you’ll need less liquid to cook the quinoa, I’d go with a similar ratio of water to apple juice. So if you use one cup of quinoa to 2 cups of liquid, use 1 1/3 cups of water and 2/3 cup of apple juice. I hope that helps. Enjoy!
There are so many varieties of mint. What kind should I use?
Hi Gina! I typically use fresh peppermint leaves, but feel free to use your favorite!
My dear friend found this recipe and we both immediately KNEW we would love it! We shared getting the ingredients and had a girls day and made this salad together.. It was nothing short of fabulous!!! Unfortunately, we were unable to find mint, but we plan on making it again (and again!!!) so we will add it the next time. We both know it will be a great addition. Having said that we absolutely enjoyed ever last bite of this amazing salad even without the mint. Thank you for posting it.!!! Its a keeper for sure!
aww I love this, Jennifer! So glad this salad is a hit for you and your friend.
Absolutely fantastic. Made it exactly as written except I swapped in Pecorino Romano for the Parm.
So glad you enjoyed it!
Adding farro to green leafy salads is a favorite addition of mine. I haven’t heard of this salad, but now it’s all I want! Thank you for sharing, my friend! Hope all is well! xo
Thank you so much, Annie. Be safe and well, my friend. xo
I love mixing farro into green salads like this one. I hadn’t heard of this famous salad before. Exciting new info for me. 🙂 ~Valentina
Yay! I hope you’ll give this one a try, Valentina!
I want to make a big bowl of this and have it for lunch every day this week 🙂 I love a hearty salad like this and since your last farro post I’ve really been craving that nutty, chewy texture! Digging in!
Woohoo! You know I love to hear that, Katherine. Thank you!
Well, it’s official – I live under a rock! I’ve never heard of the Charlie Bird restaurant, but this salad sure does sound (and look) delicious!! I’m totally intrigued by the farro cooking liquid! I am a salad fanatic, so this one is going on my must try IMMEDIATELY list! Pinned!
I hadn’t heard of Charlie Bird until I came across this recipe – so don’t feel alone! (West coast girl here. 😉 ) I’m excited for you to try this, Cheyanne! The flavor is truly amazing.
I have never heard of the Charlie Bird Salad, but looking at the list of ingredients, I know I’d love it. Farro added to any salad makes it so much more satisfying. Can’t wait to try this one Marissa!
Love to hear that, Mary Ann! Thank you!
So awesome that you can take a popular recipe like that and make it at home….even better! This looks like my kinda salad, Marissa! So hearty and poppin’ with fresh flavours….love it!
Thanks so much, Dawn!
Oh, those comments. You really do have to take them with a grain of salt – and in this case, that was too much salt. 🙂 So I’m not familiar with this salad, but it does indeed sound delicious. I love a good farro salad! I must admit that the mint caught me off guard. Everything else makes sense, but the mint surprises me. However, if you say the flavors work, then I believe you! I’ll have to try this salad out soon. It looks delicious…and perfect for Spring, too!
The mint works, I promise! Excited for you to try this, David!
I love the idea of cooking the farro and infusing it at the same time – this is such a great tip! I will definitely try it soon.. this salad looks superb!
It makes all the difference, Alexandra! Excited for you to try it. 🙂
This looks beyond delicious! The flavour, colour and plating…just perfect!
Thank you so much, Angie!