Summer Grilled Peach and Farro Salad with Basil

Summer on a plate! This grilled peach salad unites sweet juicy peaches, bitter radicchio, chewy farro, crisp cucumbers, crunchy almonds, and fragrant basil for a versatile, seasonal side dish or main course.

Ingredients

For the Dressing

For the Salad

  • 1 c farro
  • 2 peaches
  • Olive oil for grilling
  • Small head of radicchio
  • 2 c baby kale
  • 4 baby cucumbers
  • 0.5 c roasted salted almonds
  • 4-6 sprigs of fresh basil
  • Generous sprinkle of Saratoga Olive Oil Hawaiian Red Sea Salt

Instructions

  1. To make the dressing, combine all of the ingredients together and stir well. Taste and adjust as you see fit; you can add additional balsamic for more sweetness, additional mustard for more zing, or additional olive oil for more lusciousness.
  2. To cook the farro, bring a medium pot of water to a boil, add the farro, and boil for about 15 minutes until tender. Drain in a fine-mesh colander.
  3. While the farro is still hot, put it in a large mixing bowl with half of the salad dressing and stir. This will help the farro absorb the flavors of the dressing. Set the other half of the dressing aside for drizzling on top of the salad and allow the farro to cool.
  4. While the farro is cooling, cut the peaches into wedges and grill them on a very well-oiled grill at high temperature for a minute or two per side, or just until lightly charred. You can do this either outdoors or on an indoor grill pan. Set the peaches aside to cool.
  5. Cut the radicchio into ribbons and cut the cucumbers into slices.
  6. Once the farro has cooled to room temperature, add the radicchio and baby kale and toss gently (don't do this while the farro is still warm or the greens will wilt).
  7. Transfer the farro, radicchio, and baby kale to a serving platter. Add cucumber and peach slices on top. Garnish with almonds and fresh basil cut into ribbons.
  8. Finish it off with a sprinkle of sea salt.
  9. Serve with additional dressing on the side for drizzling.