Farro is my absolute favorite grain. I love the chewy texture and the taste is, well, whatever it gets married to. Here farro marries olive oil, red wine vinegar and a bit of sugar for moisture and many delicious sweet and savory morsels for texture. As many of my readers know, because I tend to beat the dead horse, I just cannot make peace with quinoa. There is something about both its taste and texture that doesn’t do it for me. In fact, it always smells funny even after many rinses and the texture is sandy. Hope I didn’t offend any quinoa lovers, but it wouldn’t be the first time. Sorry sorry sorry. Now let’s talk about Sweet and Sour Eggplant Caponata with Farro.
Yes, please. This salad has all the sweet and savory punch you would expect from combining eggplant, dates, capers, red wine vinegar and salty Kalamata olives. The dates soften and melt into the small cubes of eggplant when sauteed with onions in olive oil. Pour the warm mixture over the farro. Everything will maintain its own integrity yet blends into a toothsome whole.
Once you make this it will undoubtedly become a favorite. It is new and different and will step up your side dish game. It can be made one or two days ahead and should be served at room temperature. Did I mention it is gluten-free? It can be embellished with just about anything you can think of in the Mediterranean world. Feta. Grilled Chicken. Grilled lamb. You get the picture. If you make this please let me know in the comments and please give it a PIN if you think it is as special as I do!
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Farro with Sweet and Sour Eggplant Caponata
This sweet and sour farro salad can be made a day or two ahead. Served with chicken or lamb it is a full meal or alone it makes a terrific side dish.
Ingredients
- 1 eggplant
- 1 3/4 teaspoons salt divided
- 3 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1/3 cup dried pitted dates chopped
- ½ cup red wine vinegar
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 1/3 cup kalamata olives sliced
- ¼ cup capers drained
- 1/3 cup finely chopped Italian parsley
- 2 cups cooked farro
Instructions
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Cut eggplant in half and salt both cut sides with 1 teaspoon salt. Let sit for 30 minutes. Towel dry and chop into 1 inch pieces.
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Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add chopped onion and ¼ teaspoon salt. Saute for 4 minutes until onion is translucent but not brown.
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Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the pan along with the eggplant. Stir the eggplant and onions together and cook for 3 minutes until the eggplant is just starting to cook. Cover the pan for 3 minutes, stir and cook for 3 minutes more.
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While eggplant is cooking, heat red wine vinegar and sugar in a heatproof measuring cup for 1 ½ minutes until sugar is dissolved. Add to the pan with the eggplant.
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Stir in the chopped dates and olives and cook the mixture for 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Some of the liquid will remain in the pan but that will be absorbed by the farro. Add the remaining ¼ teaspoon of salt, capers and parsley.
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Stir the mixture into the farro and serve at room temperature.
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This can be made a day or two ahead but bring to room temperature before serving.