Farro With Salmon, Cucumber, Radicchio and Dill

By Genevieve Ko

Total Time: 40 minutes
Rating: 4(1,790)
Notes: Read community notes

Salmon steams right over toasty farro, saving you from having to wash an extra pan. The silky fish and chewy grains get a refreshing lemony salad of cucumbers and radicchio on top, which is prepared while the farro cooks. Each bite goes from crunchy cool to warm and comforting, though the salad is also good room temperature or cold. If you don't like the bitter edge of radicchio, try thinly sliced endive or fennel instead. For a salty, creamy hit of flavor, sprinkle the top of the salad with crumbled feta.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

5tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
1onion, finely chopped (1 cup)
Kosher salt and black pepper
2cups farro (12 ounces), rinsed and drained
1lemon
3mini (or Persian) seedless cucumbers (7 ounces)
1small head radicchio (5 ounces)
⅓cup packed finely chopped dill
4boneless salmon fillets (4 ounces each, and about 1-inch thick)

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large straight-sided skillet with a lid over medium heat. Add onion, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring often, until starting to turn clear, about 3 minutes. Add farro, sprinkle with salt, and cook, stirring, until the pan is dry and the farro smells toasty, about 2 minutes. Stir in 2½ cups water. Bring to a boil, then cover skillet, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 20 minutes.
Step 2
Meanwhile, zest the lemon into a large bowl, then squeeze in its juice. Cut the cucumbers in quarters lengthwise, then slice into ½-inch slices crosswise (you should have 2 cups); add to the bowl. Quarter and core the radicchio, then thinly slice into ¼-inch strips (you should have 3 cups); add to the bowl. Add dill, remaining 2 tablespoons oil and a pinch each of salt and pepper to the bowl, and toss until evenly coated.
Step 3
When the farro is done, season the salmon with salt and pepper. Uncover the farro. Most of the water should be absorbed and the grains should be al dente. Set the salmon on top of the farro in a single layer, skin side up if applicable. Cover and steam to desired doneness, 6 to 7 minutes for medium-rare. Remove from the heat. If your salmon has skin, grip a corner with a paper towel and peel off and discard; repeat with the remaining fillets. The skin should come off easily in a single piece.
Step 4
Divide the farro and salmon among bowls, flaking the salmon into pieces if you like, and top with the cucumber salad. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Ratings

4 out of 5

1,790 user ratings

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Anonymous5 years ago

I ran the recipe through a recipe calculator. I got about 725 per serving. That's still high, though. Cut the oil to 1-2 tablespoons, reduce the salmon to 3 oz, double the vegetables and reduce the farro by 25% and you've got a more reasonable calorie count that is still nutritious.

Yogamom5 years ago

I'd recommend (for those who find this wanting) making a light vinaigrette of sorts for the farro after it's cooked. I added a diced shallot, olive oil, s+p and red wine vinegar to the warm farro and tossed it. If you want to add some diced or crumbled feta at this point, it melts slightly, which is lovely. Mix in the vegetable - I used spinach. I cooked the salmon separately (roasted it, but seared or grilled would be nice) and then gently chunked the salmon on top of the grain salad.

radicchio concerns5 years ago

Although I LOVE it, my family finds radicchio a little too strong/bitter. Thinly sliced red cabbage adds a lovely bite and slight sweetness that does not get lost with all the flavor. Plus...a small head of red cabbage lasts...like...forever in the fridge...just slice off the dark edges if it has been awhile and unlock it good as new!

Jacqueline5 years ago

Ok ok, so the calorie count is off. I honestly do not see that as a big deal. The salad, however, when made according to the recipe is overwhelmingly bitter (and I like bitter vegetables). I made this for dinner with my mom and she had the inspired idea of adding maybe a teaspoon of sugar water (we both always keep some on hand in the fridge for drinks). This made a huge difference. With a little added sugar, this was truly delicious.

Mariabelle5 years ago

William, I believe you are absolutely right. Both the ratio and cooking time for the farro is way off. The ratio is, indeed, 2-1 and the cooking time is closer to 40 minutes.

William5 years ago

I love radicchio and didn't find it to bitter for me. And I liked the flavor combination. However, I'm pretty new to cooking and my farro felt way underdone. I looked on line, after crunching through this meal, and saw typical ratios of at LEAST 2 to 1, liquid to grain. So wouldn't we expect to need 4 cups of water for this recipe, rather 2 1/2? I'm confused that no one else has commented on this. I'd like to try it again, if someone can help explain that?

Dan M5 years ago

I upped the liquid a little bit for the farro, but the cooking time was spot on. I think some people don’t toast the farro quite enough to start. It should smell very toasty before adding liquid. Soaking radicchio in cold water and letting it sit with the lemon juice longer helps tame its bitterness. I added a little fresh Washington asparagus mixed in with the farro at the same time as the fish, it turned out perfect. Finally I recommend a little something extra to the dressing. I added Dijon.

Smelly5 years ago

I made this tonight, following the recipe almost to the letter. I did substitute spinach for the radicchio, because I was too lazy to go to the market and had spinach on hand. It was very, very good.

Delicious5 years ago

Delicious and forgiving recipe for personal preferences. Subbed the radicchio with romaine and added a miso olive oil vinaigrette, hard boiled egg, and roasted chickpeas. Next time will marinate the salmon with miso as well. Easy meal prep, pre-chop the veg ahead of time and put together in the morning

Tim Carroll5 years ago

Pretty tasty. I added feta to the cucumbers and a dash of sugar with the radicchio as others have suggested. Topped it all with torn mint.

Jesse5 years ago

This was a winner to my wife and my 14-month-old. I followed the instructions for the salad, subbing in a lime for the lemon, green onion for the dill, and 1 tbs. sesame oil for the 2 tbs. olive oil (all in step 2). I cooked the salmon separately after marinating in miso, sake & mirin for a few hours. I added the cooked salmon into the salad and mixed. The cold leftovers were even great the next day.

AC-Colorado5 years ago

Use less onion. Be sure to have the farro to water ratio 2:1. Use red cabbage instead of radicchio and add Dijon to the dressing. Decrease oil to 4 tbsp.

Sally5 years ago

Increased liquid to 3.5 cups and used stock instead of water. Added about a tablespoon of Dijon mustard to the dressing to complement the salmon. Delicious and so easy!

Emily5 years ago

A perfect light dinner. I used Belgian endive instead of radicchio and had no problem with bitterness. Probably any crunchy vegetable would be great in its place. This is a great method for steaming the salmon.

Laura5 years ago

Definitely add some sugar or honey into the dressing as suggested by other reviewers. I also added sliced radishes, which complemented the dish well.

Jennifer O1 month ago

If radicchio is too bitter for you, try treviso, which is the milder version. I usually make this dish with radicchio but found treviso at my supermarket and subbed. Delicious!

Cassidy4 months ago

I slow roasted my salmon following a combo of recipes between Samin Nosrats salt fat acid head and Bon Appetits slow roasted salmon, at 225 degrees for 1hour and 15 min on top of a bed of thinly sliced fennel, lemon and Fresno chilis. After toasting the farro I cooked it like pasta, med/high heat, salted water until al dente. I tossed with a salad dressing I made the night before of oil honey Dijon lemon juice salt pepp and red pepper flakes. Tossed the salmon and veg w/ farro, rad and dill.

mkane4 months ago

I also added baby kale at the end. Salmon was last.

Lauren5 months ago

I love the bitterness of the salad but if you find it off putting and aren’t here to be precious about calorie count, throw some crumbled feta on top of this dish like we do. Favorite topper.

Patricia6 months ago

Third time I've made this recipe, and it's just.so.delicious. I have followed the recipe as-is without any problems, but I can see how all the readers' modifications can alter the recipe according to preferences. The serving size is more like 6-8, though.

Josh McCool10 months ago

This is in our regular rotation, but I have made some adjustments recently to up the flavors. - Cook the farro with Better Than Bouillon or chicken/vegetable stock of choice - Rub salmon with olive oil, coat with seasoning of choice, & bake instead of steam. I have had good luck with a combo of garlic powder and Trader Joe’s Salmon Rub (brown sugar, smoked paprika, kosher salt, black pepper, rice concentrate, thyme) - Top it off with a yuzu hot sauce (Trader Joes has a good one) Enjoy!

Cat B11 months ago

This was super tasty! I mixed in some fresh spinach to the farro in the last minute of cooking, as well as some feta and a tablespoon of vinaigrette at the end, which added some nice complexity. I agree with the comments about the farro taking longer than the recipe indicated - my batch took more like 45 minutes to get tender, and I found there was too much liquid left in the grains for my liking by the time it was done. Next time I would reduce the water to 2 cups.

Fresh and Tasty11 months ago

I couldn’t find radicchio so substituted bok Chou. Fabulous. The only thing I would change would be to add an accent flavor like celeriac or fennel.

Sarah1 year ago

Farro ratio/timing is off. Radicchio needs a little sugar water Add feta

Tbird1 year ago

This was delicious! I did use half the amount of radicchio to cut down on the bitterness, and I cooked the farro about 10 minutes longer than indicated. But the recipe is fantastic and healthy.

KH1 year ago

Amazing - so tasty and simple! I made the recipe exactly as written but did add some chopped shallots to the dressing as others suggested. I don’t even know if it needed it. The salmon cooked perfectly as directed.

Patrick1 year ago

Can I just add that 2 cups farro (or anything else for that matter) is not 12 ounces. 1 cup = 8 ounces.

allison1 year ago

Delicious! I used quinoa instead of farro for a lighter version for lunch

Kristin D.2 years ago

I added a small bunch of kale, rubbed with a little olive oil and lemon, to the salad. It added color and interest to the flavors. I also used leftover chicken stock to cook the farro and added some chives to the dressing. Next time I’ll use 1-1/2 cups of farro instead of 2. Very delicious dish.

katie2 years ago

I really liked this. I added a dash of sugar to the cucumber-radicchio salad and seared the salmon with skin on before adding to farro to steam. I also sprinkled feta and flaky sea salt on top right before serving. Very very yummy.

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