Rainbow Chili Farro Salad with Garlic Lime Vinaigrette
A Colorful, Tasty Main Course Salad
This Rainbow Chili Farro Salad with Garlic Lime Vinaigrette is balanced in sweet, sour, salty and a little spice. It is packed full of mixed baby greens, chili lime corn and chickpeas with cumin cooked farro. All with an unusual combo of sweet marinated radishes and carrots, topped with green onions, fresh cilantro and toasted sunflower seeds. Drizzled with a garlic lime vinaigrette. This is a very delicious salad that you can make all the toppings ahead of time and put together throughout the week. A salad the whole family will love.
What Is Farro in Rainbow Chili Farro Salad with Garlic Lime Vinaigrette
Farro is a Mesopotamian healthy ancient grain greatly loved by Italy for it’s versatility. It is starting to become popular in the United States because of it’s health benefits, quick cooking time and taste. It is really known for it’s unique nutty flavor. So you will start seeing it more in your grocery stores.
Farro contains more health benefits than many common grains. It is high in fiber, protein and nutritious in zinc, magnesium and vitamin B’s. Not only is it more nutritious than quinoa but it contains even more calcium and carbohydrates than quinoa. People with high blood sugar levels should pick farro over rice and pasta because it is easier on blood sugar levels. It is a great anti-inflammatory and is high in antioxidants. Farro has so many healthy benefits that it is worth researching to see what it can do for you. Although, it is not gluten free so beware of that if you are gluten sensitive.
How To Make Rainbow Farro Salad with Garlic Lime Vinaigrette
The key to making this salad is having all your greens, carrots and radishes fresh. This always makes for a great tasting salad. The first thing I do is cook the farro and add Better Than Bouillon, vegan butter and cumin. Cook according to the directions on the bag. It should only take about 10 minutes and then rests for another 5 minutes. Drain any remaining liquids. Take off the cover, fluff the farro with a fork and put in a place to cool.
The second thing is to marinate the thinly sliced radishes and shredded carrots in rice vinegar and agave sweetener. This marinade really helps take the sharp spicy bite out of the radishes. Let them set in a shallow bowl for 10 to 15 minutes. That should be how long it takes to finish cooking the farro and constructing this salad.
Third in another shallow bowl combine the corn and chickpeas together. Make sure they are well drained and rinsed under cold water in a sieve. Add the chili lime spice and mix together until well coated.
Arranging The Rainbow Chili Farro Salad
When I put this Rainbow Chili Farro Salad with Garlic Lime Vinaigrette together I start with a large platter. Before assembling make sure not to throw any of the carrot and radish marinade out. We will use it in the vinaigrette later.
I put half of the baby greens on first than a few of the marinated carrots and radishes and then sprinkle some farro. Next I add the rest of the baby greens, topping it with some of the marinated carrots and radishes again. Add some more farro down the middle, topping it with the chili lime corn and chickpeas. I add some throughout the platter but mostly down the middle. This is where people can dig in if they want more of the grains and chickpeas. Then top the rest of the salad with the cilantro, sliced green onions and toasted sunflower seeds. Make sure the sunflower seeds are toasted. They make a big difference in the taste of the salad.
How To Make Garlic Lime Vinaigrette
Make sure to have fresh limes when making this Garlic Lime Vinaigrette. It really makes a world of difference in the taste. I find that old limes have less sour citrus taste and tend to be more sweet. The marinade is a little sweet so we don’t want to have this vinaigrette to much on the sweet side. It really does need that tangy citrus zip to it. It helps complement the chili and garlic.
In a small bowl combine the fresh squeezed lime, olive oil, garlic, agave, sea salt and black pepper. If you are done arranging the salad add the left over rice vinegar and agave marinade to the vinaigrette. Blend together stirring with a spoon. When it’s all mixed together spoon half of it over the salad. Keep the other half for adding to the top of the salad after it is served. Yes! It has a lot of garlic but honestly we hardly taste it. The fresh lime helps cut the sharpness of the garlic.
This Rainbow Chili Farro Salad with Garlic Lime Vinaigrette has become one of our favorite salads. I hope you like it as much as we do. Enjoy!
Rainbow Chili Farro Salad with Garlic Lime Vinaigrette
Equipment
- 2 Medium bowls 1 for carrots and radishes, 1 for corn and chickpeas
- 1 Small bowl for mixing the vinaigrette
- 3 Medium stirring spoons
- 1 Medium pot with lid
- 1 Small whisk
- 1 Set of measuring cups
- 1 Set of measuring spoons
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Sharp knife
- 1 Medium sieve
- 1 Large salad bowl or platter
- 1 Large salad server spoon and fork
Ingredients
Farro
- ½ cup Farro, rinsed under water in a sieve
- 1⅓ cup Water
- 1½ tsp Vegetable Better Than Bouillon
- 1 Tbsp Vegan Butter
- 1 tsp Ground Cumin
Carrot and Radish Marinade
- ⅓ cup Carrot, shredded
- 3 Large Radishes, thinly sliced
- ½ cup Rice Vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Agave
Corn and Chickpea Mixture
- ¾ cup Organic Canned Corn, drained and rinsed
- ¾ cup Organic Chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 tsp Chili Lime Spice
- 2 to 3 dashes Cayenne Pepper, optional
Salad Ingredients
- 6 cups Mixed Baby Greens
- ½ cup Fresh Cilantro Leaves, leaves only, extra cilantro if desired
- 2 Lg Green Onions, sliced
- ¼ cup Toasted Sunflower Seeds
Garlic Lime Vinaigrette
- 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1½ Tbsp Organic Fresh Lime, squeezed
- 5 cloves Fresh Garlic minced small
- 1 tsp Agave Sweetener
- ¼ tsp Sea Salt
- ¼ tsp Black Pepper
Instructions
Farro
- Rinse the farro under cold water in a sieve. Add to the water in a medium pot. add the vegetable Better Than Bouillon, vegan butter and cumin. Bring to a boil. After it boils cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Take off of heat and let sit with cover on for 5 more minutes. After 5 minutes of resting drain any extra liquid, fluff the farro and let cool.
Carrot and Radish marinade
- While the farro is cooking clean the radishes and slice them thin. Clean the carrots and shred them. In a medium flat bowl add the rice vinegar and the agave sweetener. Whisk them together well. Add the shredded carrots and the sliced radishes. Mix them together in the marinade to get them fully covered. Stir and mix them often. Let marinade for 10 to 15 minutes. Do not discard the marinade.
Corn and Chickpea Mixture
- Drain and rinse both the canned organic corn and the canned chickpeas. Let them drain well. Add them to a different medium bowl and add the chili lime powder and cayenne pepper if desired. (The cayenne pepper is optional) Mix it all together well. Set aside.
Garlic Lime Vinaigrette
- In a small bowl combine the fresh squeezed olive oil, lime juice, fresh minced garlic, sea salt, black pepper. Mix together and let sit.
Salad Assemble
- In a large platter or large plate or large bowl add half of the baby greens. Then add half of the soaked carrots and radishes onto (Not The Marinade Mixture, save that for the vinaigrette) the baby greens. Add some of the farro. Then top it with the rest of the baby greens. Add the rest of the carrot and radish mixture. (Not The Marinade Mixture, save that for the vinaigrette) Down the middle add the rest of the farro, chili lime corn and chickpea mixture and add a little to the sides of the salad as well. On top of everything add the cilantro, green onions and toasted sunflowers.
- Add the carrot and radish liquid marinade to the garlic lime vinaigrette. Mix well! Add half of the vinaigrette to the top of the salad. Save the rest to add onto each individual salad. Ready to serve!
- Enjoy!