This hearty grain & greens salad makes a healthy side or main in fall or late summer. Packed with fresh veggies & herbs, it can be made vegan & gluten-free!
This is actually the third time I set out to make farro. And for one reason or another, a farro post is still yet to happen. Thanks to my superior pantry labeling system (a million unlabeled bags), I happened to grab these wheat berries instead. Turns out, pre-cooked wheat berries and pre-cooked farro look remarkably similar to each other.
Not that it matters… in these salads, any grain will do. The formula is simple: grain + green + nut + chopped fresh herbs +Â a tangy cheese (optional) +Â a seasonal special guest. Today’s seasonal guest is figs.
But unlike my other recent fig post, I don’t have a charming farmers market story. This weekend, we didn’t get up and out early. We laid around on the sofa watching Netflix. In fact, I can hardly believe the summer is almost over and we’ve been so boring. But that’s about to change (no we’re not having a baby), but we’re getting ready to take a trip.
Fig & Arugula Wheat Berry Salad
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ garlic clove, minced
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon honey or maple syrup
- Sea salt and fresh black pepper
- 1½ cups cooked wheat berries or quinoa for gf*
- 2 cups arugula or other baby salad greens
- ½ cup figs, quartered, (about 8-10 figs, use dried figs if fresh aren’t available)
- ⅓ cup walnuts, toasted & chopped
- ½ cup chopped mixed herbs (I used basil and mint)
- ¼ cup crumbled feta (optional)
- Make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, honey, and salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Assemble the salad with the cooked wheat berries, arugula, figs, walnuts, herbs, and feta, if using. Toss with as much or as little dressing as you like, and serve.
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Hi there, just discovered your blog and have added 3 of your meals to this weeks meal plan. I just made this recipe and both me and my husband were soooo impressed. My husband said its 5 stars and restaurant worthy! Just blew our minds! Absolutely perfect! I did want to mention that for fresh herbs in the recipe it doesn’t say cup or tbsp, I did 1/2 cup and that worked. Thank you for your beautiful blog!
Hi Karen, makes my day to hear this – so glad the fig salad was a hit 🙂
Would you believe that I’ve only had one bite of a fresh fig, ever? I’m going to hunt some down so I can make this gorgeous salad.
I love recipes like this that use a simple formula for goodness as its base – you can never go wrong and you are guaranteed a salad that is never boring!
This looks sooooo delicious. Love your photos!
oh gosh, i feel ya. I just had to throw out a few small bags of spices because i couldn’t tell what they were – they were all just red and pungent, which didn’t really narrow it down.
and just the other day, i mistakenly grabbed a container of what i thought was bulgur but turned out to be (i think) steel cut oats. what a goopy mess.
but farro, man, it’s so lovely.
What a beautiful blog you have, I will be happy to follow it, I love your design and pictures !
Oh yes – I recognize this formula very well. It’s a near-weekly lunch salad design in my house too, but I’m absolutely envious of your beautiful figs. Hooray for a trip!
I’ve been cooking with farro a lot lately, but have yet to try wheat berries! Looking forward to giving this awesome recipe a shot! 🙂 Hope I can find some fresh figs soon!
I have so many versions of wheat berries – some spelt, some farro, some the typical wheat.. I think I also have emmer… nearly out of barley so I will have to resort to them when I want to make a risotto-type dish.. unless I make this salad first! Looks great! Definitely want to find some figs now. 🙂
I love your formula … especially the “seasonal special guest”. Very cute!
Your photos are outstanding. The figs in the bowl.. goodness. You clearly have wonderful light in your kitchen. Wheat berries fascinate me – they look large and nutty. Would love to get my hands on some.
Wheat berries are a favorite grain in our house, and I often incorporate them into salads. Combining them with figs and walnuts is a whole new fantastic idea to me, and I look forward to making this.