Antipasto Salad with Sun-dried Tomato Vinaigrette

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This is a hearty Mediterranean salad with the added texture and nutrition of farro. Check the Zhuzh It Up section for ideas to make it your own!

Prep Time: 35 min

Cook time: 25 min (farro)

Yield: 6-8 servings (or 4 meal-sized salads)

Ingredients

Salad:

• 1 1/2 cups farro, rinsed*

• olive oil

• 1 fennel bulb, cored and diced

• 4 cups arugula / spring mix

• 8 oz fresh mozzarella, drained

• 3/4 cup mixed Italian olives

• 3/4 cup quartered artichokes

• 1/2 cup diced sopressata salami

• 1/2 cup pickled banana peppers

Sundried Tomato Vinaigrette:

• 1 tsp lemon zest**

• 3 tbsp lemon juice**

• 1 tbsp honey

• 4 garlic cloves, minced

• ½ tsp red pepper flakes

• 1(270mL) jar sun-dried tomatoes in oil

• ¼ cup olive oil

• 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

• 1 tbsp dried oregano (or fresh)

• course salt

Notes:

*You could substitute cooked quinoa or brown rice - or leave the grain out if you like.

**If you've got salt-preserved lemons on hand, replace the zest and juice with 2 tbsp of minced preserved lemon. Be sure to taste before adding any salt!

Directions

Dressing:

1. Combine lemon zest, lemon juice, honey, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a medium-sized bowl. Whisk to combine.

2. Drizzle in the oil from the sun-dried tomato jar plus the ¼ cup of olive oil, whisking continuously.

3. Rough chop the sun-dried tomatoes. Add them to the bowl, along with the parsley and oregano and stir it all together. Taste first, then season with salt.

Salad:

1. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Add the farro. Bring the water back to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and gently boil the farro for 25 minutes. Drain the farro and spread it onto a parchment-lined sheet pan to cool.

2. Over medium heat, sauté the fennel in a little olive oil until lightly browned and tender. Sprinkle with salt, remove from heat and allow to cool while you gather the rest of your salad.

3. Toss the salad ingredients with half of the vinaigrette in a large mixing bowl. Arrange the salad in a large serving dish and drizzle the remaining vinaigrette over top. Garnish with fennel fronds.

Zhuzh it up!

• You could swap salad fixings to suit your taste - try cucumber, sliced avocado, or roasted and cooled butternut squash.

• If you're not a fan of salami, leftover rotisserie chicken would be delicious with this salad.

This amazing recipe was inspired by the one found on theoriginaldish.com