Hedden Family Recipes

Roasted Cauliflower and Farro Salad with Feta and Avocado

Adapted from the recipe of Cookie and Kate

Ingredients:

Roasted cauliflower

• 1 large head cauliflower (about 2 pounds), cut into bite-sized florettes
• 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)

Garlicky farro

• 1 cup uncooked farro, rinsed
• 2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil (less if using oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, see below)
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
• salt, ¾ tsp. in water for cooking farro and ¼ tsp. in mixing bowl once farro is cooked

Everything else

• ⅓ cup pitted Kalamata olives, sliced
• ¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped (if sun-dried tomatoes are oil-packed, reduce oil in garlicky farro step above)
• ½ cup crumbled feta (about 2 ounces)
• ½ cup toasted pistachio nuts (salted and roasted) or any other nuts desired
• 2-3 Tbsp. lemon juice (about ½ lemon), plus more for serving
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 4+ handfuls leafy greens (arugula, escarole, spinach, or baby kale are all good choices)
• 1 avocado, cut into cubes (if mixing in) or slices (if serving on plates, see below)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Put 4 cups of water in a large pot and bring to a boil.
3. Add olive oil, red pepper flakes, and salt to a large mixing bowl and mix to make a dressing.
4. Toss cauliflower florettes in dressing, then arrange them in an even layer across a baking sheet.
5. Roast for 25-35 minutes, tossing halfway, until cauliflower is tender and golden on edges.
6. If you are using sun-dried tomatoes that are NOT stored in oil, they should be chopped into small pieces and cooked with the farro. If the sun-dried tomatoes are stored in oil, they should be chopped and added together with the olives, feta, etc., in a later step.
7. Rinse farro.
8. Once water is boiling, add ¾ tsp. salt and farro, and chopped sun-dried tomatoes, if not stored in oil. Turn heat down to medium, and boil for about 20-25 minutes. (Pearled farro will take around 15 minutes; unprocessed farro will take 25 to 40 minutes). Hint: save excess water for use as a soup stock or to cook rice in.
9. Put olive oil, garlic and ¼ tsp. salt into same mixing bowl and mix.
10. Add cooked farro to bowl, mix, and set aside.
11. Once cauliflower is roasted, add it, chopped sun-dried tomatoes (if using sun-dried tomatoes that are stored in oil), olives, feta, pistachio nuts, pepper, lemon juice, to cooked farro and toss together. Season with additional salt and pepper (to taste). If not serving on separate plates, also mix in greens and avocado cubes. If serving on separate plates, add greens and avocado slices when plating (see below).
12. The farro and cauliflower mixture can be served from the bowl or it can be plated and served as a salad. To do this, divide greens between four dinner plates. Put a generous amount of the cauliflower and farro salad on the greens, and then slices of avocado on top of the farro salad. Finish the plates with an extra squeeze of lemon juice or drizzle of olive oil, if desired. Serve promptly.