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Forbidden Rice & Farro Salad with Winter Citrus Pesto

Roberta Reynolds
Farro is one of the ancient grains, and is thought to be an ancestor of all other wheat species. That being said, it contains far less gluten then wheat and is more easily digestible as well as being an excellent source of complex carbohydrates and protein. Forbidden Rice is also an ancient grain that is extremely high in a class of flavonoid antioxidants called anthocyanins as well as iron. Combine Farro, Forbidden Rice with this hearty winter pesto, dried fruit and nuts, and you can be pretty proud of yourself for creating something that is over the top nutritious but also so good you’ll want to hide it in the kitchen and eat it all yourself.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours
Servings 8 large servings

Ingredients
  

  • FARRO & FORBIDDEN RICE MIXTURE
  • 1 ½ cups Farro lightly scratched, such as Bob’s Red Mill variety
  • 1 ½ cups Forbidden Rice
  • 2-3 large bunches of Radishes
  • 2-3 large Leeks
  • ½ cup slivered Dried Apricots
  • ½ cup roughly chopped Pistachio Nuts
  • PESTO
  • 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil plus extra for drizzling
  • 1 clove Garlic minced
  • 2 cups Lacinato Kale roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup fresh Italian Parsley roughly chopped
  • 1 ½ cups carrot tops roughly chopped, beet greens, roughly chopped and/or radish tops, roughly chopped
  • ½ cup Pumpkin Seeds
  • Zest and juice from 2 lemons or 2 oranges or a combination of both
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • FARRO & FORBIDDEN RICE MIXTURE
  • To cook Farro: Pour into in a pot of boiling salted water, bring water back to a boil and cook for about 30 minutes, or until tender. Drain, place in large bowl, drizzle with olive oil and set aside until it reaches room temperature.
  • To cook Forbidden Rice: Heat 2 ½ cups of water to a boil. Add Rice, 1 tsp. salt and a drizzle of olive oil, return to low boil and cook until tender and water has been absorbed – about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to come to room temperature.
  • Heat oven to 375. Wash and trim radishes. Cut in half. Place on a cookie sheet and toss with salt and olive oil. Roast until tender and beginning to caramelize, about 20-30 minutes.
  • Wash leeks and cut into ¼ inch rounds. Place on a cookie sheet and toss with salt and olive oil. Roast until tender and beginning to caramelize, about 20-30 minutes.
  • To serve: In a large bowl, toss together the Farro, Forbidden Rice, Roasted Radishes and Leeks, and Slivered Apricots. Stir in Winter Greens Pesto and top with Chopped Pistachios. Taste and adjust seasonings.
  • PESTO
  • In a food processor, place Greens and Herbs, Garlic, Chives, Oregano, Pumpkin Seeds, Lemon and/or Orange Juice & Zest and Salt & Pepper. Begin processing, and slowly pour in Olive Oil until mixture is well blended and smooth.