Farro and Green Bean Salad With Walnuts and Dill

By Colu Henry

Total Time: 35 minutes
Rating: 5(1,041)
Notes: Read community notes

Farro is a perfect vehicle to showcase summer produce. With its nutty flavor and toothsome texture, the whole grain is a great counterbalance to snappy, sweet green beans. The farro cooks while you prepare the rest of the salad, allowing for an easy-to-assemble meal. Dill and walnuts, a nod to Middle Eastern flavors, are used in the gremolata, but pistachios and mint or hazelnuts and parsley would also work. Feta cheese or ricotta salata tossed in at the end would also be a nice addition. This hearty salad works well on its own, but would also be a fine companion to grilled fish or any other protein. Add the acid just before serving; it makes every ingredient sing.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings

For the Farro

1cup farro
Kosher salt

For the Gremolata

½cup finely chopped walnuts
1cup roughly chopped fresh dill
2tablespoons lemon zest (from about 2 lemons)
2tablespoons finely chopped shallot (from about 1 shallot)

For the Green Beans

2tablespoons olive oil
1pound green beans, trimmed
Black pepper
Lemon juice or white wine vinegar
Flaky sea salt, for serving (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Add farro, 3 cups water and a pinch of kosher salt to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until the farro is tender and toothsome, about 30 minutes.
Step 2
While the farro cooks, make the gremolata: Toast the walnuts in a large (preferably 12-inch) skillet over medium-low heat, stirring frequently to ensure that they don’t burn, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer toasted walnuts to a medium bowl. Add the dill, lemon zest and shallots and toss to coat. Season with salt and set aside.
Step 3
Wipe out the skillet and heat the oil over medium. Add the green beans and season generously with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the beans are crisp tender and start to brown in spots, 6 to 8 minutes. Add a few tablespoons of water to help them along, if needed. Turn off the heat.
Step 4
If there is any residual cooking liquid from the farro, drain it and add the farro directly to the skillet. Toss with the beans until well combined and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a large serving bowl or platter and top with the gremolata. Drizzle with lemon juice or white wine vinegar to finish. Season with flaky salt, if desired.

Ratings

5 out of 5

1,041 user ratings

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Suzanne4 years ago

Healthy and delicious. Used beans and cherry tomatoes from my garden. Followed the directions for emmer (a type of farro wheat) which used less water. Check the water ratio for the wheat berry you use. Threw the cherry tomatoes in the oven at 350 for about 10-15 minutes until they were about to burst. Plated it on some lettuce with tomatoes grouped around the edge and crumbled feta cheese on top. We both agreed it made a fabulous dinner. We used the full recipe for the two of us.

Penni Gladstone4 years ago

Ho yea this one is great. Listened to others and added cherry tomatoes, feta, and olives nicoise. I don't like green bean used French beans instead and large shallot. Guests loved it

Bubby4 years ago

My resident taster (husband) suggested adding black olives along with the feta and roasted garden tomatoes suggested by others. Delicious!

Alice Lake3 years ago

Can this be served cold/room temperature?

Nancy4 years ago

I make this EXACTLY as written every Sunday, and enjoy it all week until it runs out. I've tried messing with it, and come back to the original every time. One of my favorite recipes ever.

Joe W.2 years ago

Bright and flavorful side for a summer bbq…it could be served cold as the leftovers are also delicious. As mentioned in the recipe, add some acid right before serving. I wish people would just review the recipes as written and stop rewriting them…go start a food blog and leave your opinions there.

Rona Maynard4 years ago

I’m not a fan of crisp-tender green beans unless they’re French beans, so I roasted mine (great for flavor but not for appearance). While satisfying as a side, this dish came into its own as a lunchtime salad with the addition of tinned Italian tuna. The olive oil clinging to the tuna nicely complements the gremolata, which I found a bit dry.

Steph4 years ago

Simply a party in the mouth, chewy, crunchy, sour, salty, fresh! I added lemon juice and feta as suggested at the end, and cut the beans into bite sized lengths so no knife needed. Perfect summer vegetarian entree, or buffet/pot luck dish.

MaryG4 years ago

This is amazing! Like others, I added cherry tomatoes and feta, but it would still be delicious without them. I also did half dill, half parsley, which I would definitely recommend.

Sfrupe4 years ago

I've made a version of this twice now. I used elements of Charlie Bird's Farro Salad (as included on NYT Cooking by Melissa Clark) I'm new to farro -- I liked a cup of apple cider vinegar added to the cooking water along with bay leaves - (1) mixed herb or (2) mint- gremolata was very yummy. I added this to a basic green salad for a week's worth of lunches. I think I'll always want walnuts with my farro going forward.

Arden4 years ago

Used shitake mushrooms in place of green beans (pan-roasted with lots of garlic) alongside feta, dill, and parsley! A wonderful salad

Rachel4 years ago

Loved this dish. My son said, Mom you keep sneaking in the vegetables in yummy dishes like this one. I added cubed Feta, 1/2 c, before serving, very savory. Also, I did used Freekah as the grain, more toothsome than Farro.

Laurie1 year ago

So adaptable! Mixed fresh herbs in my gremolata: dill, parsley, Thai basil, mint. Preserved lemon in lieu of fresh plus zest. Added seared summer squash because I needed to use some up! Finished with pomegranate vinegar

D. Ward1 month ago

Such delicious flavors! I mix it all together while it’s warm. Tastes great warm or at room temp for a buffet, potluck, picnic…leftovers are amazing! People go crazy for this stuff. I cook the green beans just past crunchy.

Elena1 month ago

Excellent

LGWATX2 months ago

Wonderful! I used sunflower seeds instead of walnuts since I had them on hand. The lemon really does sing. Thank you, Colu!

kate2 months ago

I made this and unfortunately found it bland

Cathy2 months ago

I had cooked farro in the refrigerator and used snap peas. Things came together quickly as when the peas were browned a bit I added that farro to heat and served warm.

Name Judy2 months ago

I love to see the changes and substitutions that many readers make. Adds to my knowledge of cooking and helps me make my own variations. Thank you!

Evelyn3 months ago

Excellent. Roasted beans on a sheet in the oven. Doubled the beans, will triple next time. Good hot or room temp.

Anzley3 months ago

I was surprised by just how good this was! Simple, filling, delightful.

Sf. Crumrine6 months ago

Dope sal’ad! Make it! Serve it with some pan seared fishes (did cod). You bet!

Sarah7 months ago

Wow. I've become one of those people. Instead of walnuts I used sliced almonds. Instead of dill I used cilantro. Instead of lemon zest I used grapefruit zest. All subs were because that's what I had and did not want to go back to the grocery store. I added the sliced cherry tomatoes.....PHENOMENAL!! I'm sure it would be phenomenal if followed as written and that's just the definition of a fantastic recipe!

Nicole8 months ago

While all the modifications sound lovely, none of them are needed. The recipe as written is gorgeous and allows each ingredient to shine (I say this mainly because I was worried it would be boring). I made this for my family’s pre-Thanksgiving book club and was told by multiple people it was the best bite they took all week.

Cosima8 months ago

I used what I had: chopped hazlenuts (which I toasted, per the instructions), [grated] orange rind, chopped parsley, and lime juice. Salting the farro and asparagus is essential. I had cooked the original walnut-dill version and it is delicious. Very flexible recipe. The key is the pairing of ingredients.

ET11 months ago

This is a new favourite in our household! I've made it many times with slight changes (according to what I have on hand) and this is what I've learned: (1) the size and variety of green bean doesn't matter--they all work wonderfully; (2) pecans make an excellent sub for walnuts; (3) absolutely do not skip the dill. I often double the recipes to ensure I have leftovers, which hold up very well and taste great. However, I wouldn't intend to serve this cold because olive oil tends to solidify.

Katja11 months ago

I made this several times already as is and it is one of my favorite salad recipes. I want to report to the fandom of this salad that since I ran out of farro, I used quinoa this time and it works really well too. Even though I also like olives and feta and added both this time but I really find it unnecessary!

Katherine11 months ago

Made as is except for adding some chunks of feta when finished. I read through all the notes and next time will follow suggestions in comments - adding some roasted cherry tomatoes and some kalamata olives. This was a satisfying summer supper served with some watermelon :) Happy to have lots leftover for lunches.

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