Umbrian Insalata di farro - Spelt Salad with Courgette and Rocket
Farro is central Italy's ancient grain, grown in Umbria since Roman times. As a lukewarm salad with fried courgette, rocket and lemon it is Italy's answer to the grain bowl - a couple of millennia older.
Why this dish is good for you
Spelt supplies more protein than wheat and keeps its bite when cooked because the grain stays whole - which keeps the glycaemic index low. The lemon juice in the dressing improves the uptake of the grain's iron, and the pine nuts bring the fat that makes the courgette's fat-soluble vitamins available.
Ingredients
- Spelt(weighed raw, whole grain - called farro in Italy)240 g
- Cherry tomatoes(halved, raw)250 g
- Courgette(sliced, seared in a hot pan)200 g
- Rocket(added only once the salad is lukewarm)60 g
- Green olives(pitted, rinsed, halved)40 g
- Olive oil40 g
- Lemon juice(freshly squeezed)30 g
- Pine nuts(toasted in a dry pan)20 g
- Basil(torn)10 g
- Salt3 g
Method
- 1
Boil the spelt in plenty of water for 25 to 30 minutes until tender but still firm to the bite. Drain and let it steam dry; do not rinse it cold - the grain should take up the dressing.
- 2
Brown the courgette slices on both sides in a very hot pan with some of the olive oil. They should take colour, not steam.
- 3
Toast the pine nuts golden in a dry pan, stirring, and remove them at once - they burn within seconds.
- 4
Whisk lemon juice, the remaining olive oil and salt and pour it over the still-warm spelt. Let it stand for ten minutes.
- 5
Fold in courgette, cherry tomatoes and olives.
- 6
Only once the salad is lukewarm, fold in rocket, basil and pine nuts - on hot grain the rocket collapses immediately.
🌾 Farro ist nicht gleich Farro
In Italy the word covers three related ancient grains: farro piccolo (einkorn), farro medio (emmer) and farro grande (spelt). What is usually sold is emmer; the values used here are spelt's - they sit close together, and both keep their bite.
Up-Food calculates calories, macro- and micronutrients for this dish, adds them to your daily balance and shows you which nutrients you are still missing this week.
- Nutrients per serving based on USDA and BLS reference data
- Add it straight to your weekly plan
- Send the ingredients to your shopping list
- Vitality score across seven days
No account, no payment details — you see the finished plan right away. See pricing
