Spicy Farro Salad

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups farro, soaked overnight

4 cups water

1 1/2 cups kale, ripped into bite-size pieces

1 cucumber, seeded & diced

1 bag frozen peas, thawed

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1 can chickpeas, drained & rinsed

Dressing

1 cup fresh dill, chopped

3 garlic cloves, pressed

4 Tbs sriracha sauce (add more if you want it spicier)

2 Tbs ketchup

3/4 cup veganaise

1 1/2 tsp himalayan salt

1 tsp pepper

Directions

Bring the soaked farro and 4 cups of water to a boil in a large saucepan with lid and reduce to simmer for 8-10 minutes. Rinse farro with cold water to cool and add to a large bowl.

Meanwhile, bring 1 cup of water to a boil in a medium saucepan, add peas, cook for 20-30 seconds, drained, and rinse with cold water. Mix peas, kale, cucumbers, almonds, and chickpeas in large bowl.

Make the dressing by combining all the ingredients. Mix all ingredients together and add salt and pepper according to taste. Chill for 1 hour to let flavors marry together. You may need to add more sriracha the second day for more heat due to the dressing soaking into the farro.

I have been wanting to make farro for quite some time now because I was reading all the food blogs and they were raving about it. Well, I did find some at our co-op but it was pretty pricey. Fortunately, at a different co-op I found it in the bulk section and it was cheap:) I love the nuttiness of the farro. It is my new favorite grain. I was a little deterred by the fact that you have to plan ahead and soak it overnight, but I have some friends that only soaked it for 4 hours and it turned out perfect. You don't have to soak the farro, but it cuts down on the cooking time significantly. The second time I made this the farro soaked for over 24 hours and I barely had to cook the farro. I really enjoy the mix of the sriracha and ketchup because you get the sweetness from the ketchup that compliments the spiciness of the sriracha. I used a tasty natural ketchup which has a richer flavor that your average ketchup. The dill and the kale were from my garden, so I decided to throw them in and I was pleasantly pleased. This recipe makes a lot, so it's perfect for a potluck or to munch on for a few days. It was nice to have in the refrigerator when I was hungry because I could easily make myself a bowl and then add some extra sriracha of course:)