I don’t know how long I’ve been reading Heidi Swanson’s blog 101 Cookbooks, but I know that it’s been more than a decade. She strikes me as a complex person: confident without being aloof, endlessly creative with the simplest ingredients, sophisticated but never fussy. And her sense of style is impeccable, both in her photography and the treasures she curates in her culinary boutique, Quitokeeto – the kind of shop where you want to buy everything.
I’ve enjoyed all of her cookbooks, but am particularly fond of her latest, Near & Far: Recipes Inspired by Home and Travel. In it she highlights one of my favorite parts about travel, the taste expansion and inspiration that I invariably return home with. 
Making a dish that I’ve learned in some far away place can transport me back there like nothing else. But I also love her nod to ‘near,’ because I find ample ways to be expanded and inspired in my daily life, by familiar people and places.
I’ve made several recipes out of her new book, and this is one of my favorites (not just because it’s from Italy, which as you know, is near and dear to my heart.) Like many of Heidi’s recipes, the ingredients in this farro salad caught me by surprise in that how-have-I-never-thought-of-this-before kind of way. Really, why not combine buttery green olives with crunchy nuts and sweet, chewy raisins? This salad is a savory, salty, sweet, tangy combination that will have you nodding your head in satisfaction with every bite .
I’ve tweaked the recipe just a bit, using hazelnuts instead of walnuts, fewer onions, more Pecorino and a scatter of Italian parsley.
Farro Salad with Green Olives, Hazelnuts and Raisins
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups whole farro
- 3 cups water
- large pinch fine-grain sea salt
- juice of 1/2 a Meyer Lemon
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 cup Castelvetrano or other buttery green olive coarsely chopped
- 1 cup toasted hazelnuts coarsely chopped
- 3 green onions roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup golden raisins look for golden Himalayan raisins - they're delicious and usually unsulphered
- large pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 ounce shaved pecorino plus more for serving
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsely
Instructions
- Combine farro, water, and salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Gently simmer 30 minutes, until farro is tender but not mushy. Drain excess water. Set aside to cool.
- In a large serving bowl, whisk together lemon juice, honey and olive oil. Stir in olives, hazelnuts, green onions, raisins, crushed red pepper and 1 ounce of pecorino. Add farro and toss to thoroughly combine.
- Top with parsley and several pecorino shavings; serve.
Actually, I have – but not made by ME!!! 🙂
Farro is wonderful, Marissa, and I love 101 Cookbooks too, so I’m really excited that you took this from one of her cookbooks. What an interesting combination of ingredients – just my kind of thing.
Me too, Helen! Thanks so much…
I really need to check her books out! This salad looks amazing! Love farro and need to cook it more often!
Thanks, Mira. I know what you mean – I get on little kicks of cooking it and then forget about it for a few months or until I seem some must-try recipe. 🙂
Sounds like an awesome combination! And apart from the olives I think I have most of these ingredients at home so this could be really doable too 😀
Thanks, Lorraine. If you end up making it, I’d love hear what you think! 🙂
This is a beautiful dish, I want to dive right in! Such an interesting combination of sweet and savory ingredients. I love that you used hazelnuts- so good!
Thanks so much, Sonali!
First you should never have shown me Quitokeeto, that’s a trouble site of lots of wonderful items, but secretly – thanks! 🙂
Secondly I have Near and Far as well, so good. Your description of Heidi was wonderful here, too.
I love your use of the Meyer and the pops of heat and sweet, plus farro. So good. 🙂
Dangerous, right!? Wait till she adds her vintage finds…girl’s got great taste. 🙂 Thanks, Kevin.
I’m a big fan of Heidi’s recipes as well, and what a beautiful salad this is! I love the nutty chewiness of farro and I don’t cook with it nearly enough, so this is definitely inspiration. The flavors going on in here sound like the perfect marriage – rich, brinely olives and sweet bursts of raisins and nutty crunch from nuts! I’d be a happy girl with this salad in front of me! xoxo
Thank you, Faith! I agree – I love salads with a huge mix of flavors and textures and Heidi is a master…p.s. come on over and I’ll see to it that a big bowl of this salad is set in front of you. xo
This farro salad sounds amazing! Love the combination of olives, hazelnuts and raisins!
Thank you, Sabrina. The combo sounds a little wacky, but it’s so good!
This salad looks super hearty and so many great textures and flavors. I love change up from hazelnuts from walnuts is so lovely! I bet I could eat this whole bowl myself! Sharing!
Thanks Bobbi! It seems only right to swap in hazelnuts once in a while – it’s kind of the official nut of Oregon…expensive but so darn good!
This looks absolutely delicious- farro is my favorite grain, except maybe pearl couscous! I love the green olives and shaved pecorino! Pinning 🙂
I think it’s my favorite grain too – it’s so nutty and mild with none of the bitterness of some grains. I’m with you on pearl couscous too – love it in soup!
this does look terrific. i love hazelnuts and olives but would use sultanas instead of raisins (not a fan). and it sounds good for you too. i must check out heidi’s blog.
Thanks, Sherry. And yes, sultanas are so good. Have you had the golden/green, Himalayan raisins? If not, keep a look out for them, they’re fantastic…
I love Heidi’s blog! I need to look at her books as well.
Thank you! And yes, her cookbooks are all good and for different reasons.
The only problem I have with this is that you say it serves 6. 🙂 I never know how to make grains that I don’t know well so I THANK YOU for this recipe, especially given that I’m really trying to expand my collection of “interesting sides”, which this falls right into. YUM x 20. N x
Okay, full disclosure – this would probably be 4 servings in our house. 🙂 Have you tried farro? It’s also called emmer, I can’t remember the difference. Anyway, it’s the best – nutty and not at all bitter, like some whole grains can be.
Oh this looks so incredibly yummy! It’s just the kind of healthful, hearty meal I crave during the week <3 Love your tweaks too, Marissa!
Thank you, Beeta! We love it for a mid-week lunch. And if it spans a couple of days, I keep the nuts separate and stir them in just before eating so they stay nice and crunchy. 🙂