Pesto Caprese Farro Salad
A fun twist on the traditional Caprese Salad with pesto-tossed farro as the base. Make this salad for an light summer meal, or divide it into containers to bring to work for lunch!
Ingredients
- 2 cups farro + 1/2 teaspoon salt and water to cook
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 8 oz Ciliegene Fresh Mozzarella aka the tiny balls of fresh mozz*
- 1 batch of pesto recipe below
Pesto
- 4 cups basil leaves about 4oz
- 1/2 cup hempseeds can sub walnuts, pine nuts, or other nut of choice
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- juice from 2 lemons
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- 1. Put farro and salt into a medium pot and cover with at least 4 inches of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes. When finished cooking, drain farro and place in a large serving bowl.
- 2. While farro cooks, make the pesto. Put all pesto ingredients into a food processor or high-powered blender and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. Pour the pesto over the warm, drained farro and toss to combine. Let the pesto-coated farro cool for 10 minutes before adding the fresh mozzarella and tomatoes, so they don't cook.
- 3. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half or quarters, and arrange them on top of the farro with the fresh mozzarella.Add a pinch of salt and pepper on top of the tomatoes and mozzarella. Serve as is for a prettier presentation, or toss all together to distribute the pesto onto the tomatoes and mozzarella balls. Salad can be served slightly warm, at room temperature, or cold. Leftovers keep well in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
*If you can't find mini mizzarella balls (aka Ciliegene), an 8oz ball of fresh mozzarella, chopped into small cubes, will work just as well here.