Right Now: Roasted Delicata and Farro Salad

A hearty fall salad to get you through

I'm always happy to turn from the frenzy of summer ingredients to fall produce. Greens, apples, and winter squash are all excellent right now, and this salad makes use of all three. This roasted delicata squash salad is hardy enough to make it as a very good work lunch or hold up for a day in the fridge. For dinners, it’s a filling side to pair with a protein.

Delicata Squash

While many kinds of winter squash will be around for the long haul, delicata squash is relatively fleeting with a season that lasts just in the fall months. It's one of the easiest squashes to eat and prepare with scoopable seeds and a thin skin that can be eaten. I like to cut delicata into thick half moons and roast it. Once the squash releases its water, the edges turn golden and crisp up. Delicata is a mild-tasting squash with a fine texture, and takes on flavors well. Add a little or a lot of spicy heat, paprika, cumin, garam masala, or fresh herbs.

Roasted Delicata and Farro Salad

Besides the squash, this salad is made with farro, greens, and crisp apples. Farro comes in different forms – pearled, semi-pearled, and whole – and cooking times will vary depending. To prep, rinse the grains well, and then cook in broth with slightly less water than the packaging calls for. Watch closely toward the end of cook time and add water as needed while it cooks. This method yields farro with lots of texture and chew. Take care not to overcook!

If you need a shortcut, look for quick-cooking farro in stores. I prefer the texture of slower cooking farro, but the quick kind is great in a pinch.