Warm Farro Salad with Sweet Potatoes and Pancetta Dressing
Discover farro as a cornerstone ingredient in Italian cooking by preparing this warm farro salad tossed with roasted sweet potatoes, kale, sweet chopped dates and a tangy pancetta salad dressing. It's a hearty main course salad recipe that the whole family will love come fall.
Servings 8
Ingredients
For the dressing
- 4 oz. cubed pancetta I get mine at Trader Joe's
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 T honey
For the salad:
- 1 cup farro
- 1 cup apple cider
- 1 cup water
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 sweet potato peeled and diced
- 8 oz baby bella mushrooms
- 5 large lacinato kale leaves
- 1 cup chopped dried dates
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400˚
- Bring apple cider, water and bay leaves to a boil and add farro. Cook for 10 minutes (if using Trader Joe's quick cooking farro) until soft but chewy. Drain as needed and remove bay leaves and discard. If using a different farro, cook for 25 minutes.1 cup farro, 1 cup apple cider, 1 cup water, 2 bay leaves
- Peel and cube sweet potato.1 sweet potato
- Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel and cut into quarters.8 oz baby bella mushrooms
- Wash kale leaves and remove leaves from stem by tearing or with a knife. Place in a large bowl and massage with olive oil and a sprinkling of kosher salt for about 3 minutes or so.5 large lacinato kale leaves
- Toss the sweet potatoes and mushrooms with a little olive oil and sprinkling of salt and divide on to a sheet pan. Add the massaged and oiled kale to its own sheet pan. Roast the veggies until they're crispy and golden brown, about 25 minutes. Toss as needed for even caramelization. Check the mushrooms and kale at about the 15 minutes mark, removing sooner if needed.NOTE: If the kale starts to darken too quickly, pull it out sooner. You are looking for a bit of caramelization and crunch.
- To make warm dressing, cook pancetta in a skillet over medium heat until crispy, about 5 minutes.Turn the heat off to keep the vinegar from boiling over. Slowly deglaze the pan with the apple cider vinegar, stirring with a wooden spoon. Add the honey and stir until incorporated.4 oz. cubed pancetta, 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 1 T honey
- Add farro to a wide rimmed, large bowl and top with roasted vegetables and chopped dates. Drizzle dressing over and toss again until evenly coated.1 cup chopped dried dates
