Farro and roast vegetable salad with crispy chickpeas recipe

This hearty farro salad with roasted root vegetables and crispy chickpeas is a filling and flavourful seasonal meal. If you’re trying to eat more healthily and think salads have to be just leaves, then think again. Bulking up your salads with grains like farro is a great way to make them more filling and add more texture. Farro is an ancient grain derived from wheat and is really popular in Italian cooking. It’s slightly chewy when cooked, a bit like pear barley, and is an excellent source of iron and fibre. Crispy chickepas add a lovely crunch to this farro salad, and it’s all tied together with a punchy honey mustard dressing. This super vegetarian salad is a great choice to make at the beginning of the week and take for your lunch each day. It also makes a wonderful low calorie meals option.

Ingredients

• 10 baby chatenay carrots, halved lengthways
• ½ celeriac, peeled and cut into wedges
• 1tbsp olive oil
• 400g can chickpeas
• 150g spring greens or kale
• 200g quick cook farro

For the dressing:

• 1tsp wholegrain mustard
• 1tsp honey, or maple syrup if vegan
• 1tbsp cider vinegar
• 2tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed

Method

1. Heat oven to 200C/Gas 6. Toss the carrots and celeriac in olive oil, season, and roast for 20 mins. Remove the carrots, then toss the the kale and chickpeas with a little more oil and seasoning and add to the oven for another 10-15 mins until they are crisp and the celeriac is cooked through – you can use a second baking tray for the kale and chickpeas if there isn’t room on the first.
2. Meanwhile, cook the farro according to package instructions, it should take about 10 mins.
3. Whisk all the dressing ingredients together, then combine with the cooked veg and faro to serve.