Roasted Broccolini and Farro Salad with Almond Gremolata

This was inspired by a little antipasti I had at Piccino in the Dogpatch neighborhood of San Francisco. This was also my first time making a gremolata and I’m so excited about the possibilities of this delicious and super adaptable condiment! At its most basic, a gremolata is condiment consisting of lemon zest, parsley and garlic. It always has lemon zest, and most of the time has parsley and garlic, but other than that, the possibilities are endless. This version of gremolata uses toasted almonds, lemon juice and zest and a bunch of fresh parsley.

Tangent – why does parsley get such a bad wrap as something that only belongs on the side of your plate as an afterthought garnish? Parsley is delicious, y’all! Especially in this gremolata!

This was also my first time using farro! What a delicious little grain! The best way I can describe it is “the dinner version of oatmeal”. That’s not accurate, but until I come up with a better way to describe it, that’s what we’re going with. It’s more texture than quinoa or a brown rice and does an excellent job of picking up the flavors that surround it. It’s my new favorite grain! I used 10-minute farro from Trader Joe’s – if you can’t find the quick cooking version, just follow the directions on your package. Also, you can substitute quinoa or barley. But try to find the farro, k? Worse comes to worst, grab some on The Amazons.

To roast the broccolini, all you need is broccolini, garlic and olive oil.

A little cooking lesson for those who hate peeling garlic – smash a clove with the side of a knife and voila magic, the peel slips right off!

In a baking dish, toss the broccolini, olive oil and garlic together.

Roast at 425F for 35-40 minutes, stirring half way through to ensure even browning. Set aside.

While your broccoli is roasting, make the farro.

For the farro, you’ll need farro and chicken stock. You could also use water, but I like the extra layer of flavor cooking the farro in the stock provides.

The only way I know how to describe farro is “the dinner version of oatmeal”. It looks similar but the flavor is all its own. Cook the farro according to the directions on the package. I used quick-cooking farro so it only took 10 minutes.

Unlike rice, farro won’t necessarily absorb all the stock or water you cook it with. Drain the excess liquid.

After you drain the farro, set aside and allow to cool.

Finally, the gremolata. You can make this while the farro is cooking.

You’ll need almonds, olive oil, white wine vinegar, parsley, lemon and garlic.

Chop the parsley and zest the rind of one lemon.

Mash the garlic along with 1/2 tsp of salt. You can do this with a mortar and pestle if you have one, or simply use the side of a broad knife and mash the salt into the garlic until it becomes a paste.

Add the vinegar and lemon juice to the garlic paste and let sit for 10 minutes.

Lightly toast the almonds over medium heat in a heavy-bottomed pan. Keep an eye – these can quickly turn from delicious and toasty to burnt and gross.

Chop the almonds finely with either a knife, a mortar and pestle, or but throwing them in a ziplock and smashing them with a heavy pan.

They should look something like this.

Add olive oil, almonds, parsley and lemon zest to the vinegar + garlic paste. Stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Put it all together!

Place a 1/4 of the cooked farro on the serving plate, followed by 1/4 of the roasted broccolini and 1/4 of the gremolata. Serve and enjoy!

This salad works well warm, room temperature and cold.

makes 4 servings

Ingredients

1 lb broccolini
3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
olive oil

1 cup farro
2 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup almonds, lightly toasted
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 tsp white wine vinegar
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
zest of one lemon

Directions

Preheat oven to 425F.

Rinse and pat dry broccolini and trim any tough stems. Toss with enough olive oil to coat (~3 tbsp or so), garlic and season with salt and pepper. Place in a roasting pan and roast for 35-40 minutes, tossing half way through to ensure even browning.

While the broccolini is roasting, prepare the farro and the almond gremolata.

for the farro
Prepare the farro according to package directions, replacing water with chicken stock (the ratio of farro to liquid is 1:2). Set aside and let cool.

for the almond gremolata

In a heavy-bottomed pan, lightly toast almonds over medium heat. Toasting nuts can go downhill fast, so keep a close eye to ensure the almonds don’t burn. Once nicely browned and fragrant, set aside and let cool. Once cool, crush almonds into small pieces with a mortar and pestle (or crush by placing the almonds in a Zip Lock and smash with a heavy bottomed pan).

Using a mortar and pestle or the side of a wide knife, mash garlic clove along with 1/2 tsp of salt until a paste forms. Place the garlic paste in a bowl and add in lemon juice and vinegar. Set aside and let the flavors marry for 10 minutes.

Add in olive oil, parsley, almonds and the zest of one lemon and stir to combine.

put it all together

Make a nice pile of farro in the middle of your serving dish. Top with broccolini and sprinkle with gremolata. Can be served warm or room temperature. Enjoy!

Notes

For my carnivorous friends, I like to add sliced leftover chicken breast to this and make a meal out of it.