I am a big fan of farro. So, it os no surprise that this salad with roasted vegetables and chewy farro is beloved by me. Take the time to roast your shallots for the vinaigrette it’s worth it!

Ingredients for salad:

½ cup olive oil for roasting vegetables

1 lb honeynut squash, peeled, seeded, and sliced thin (¼-inch)

1 lb Brussel sprouts, sliced in half

1 cup cooked farrow, recipe follows

Roasted Shallot Vinaigrette, recipe follows

2 cups spinach leaves

1/4 cup pomegranate arils/ and or dried tart cherries

Sea Salt

Freshly ground Pepper

Direction for the squash:

Heat oven to 400°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange winter squash slices in one layer on parchment. Coat lightly with more oil, salt, and pepper.

Roast squash for 15 minutes, until the squash is lightly brown underneath. Flip the squash pieces. Return the tray to the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes, until the squash is evenly brown.

Directions for the Brussel sprouts:

On another baking sheet, lined with parchment paper. Arrange the Brussel sprouts in one layer on the parchment. Coat lightly with olive oil, sea salt, pepper and toss until all the Brussel sprouts are coated with the oil. Place in the oven and roast for 25-30 minutes.

Ingredients for farro:

1 cup pearled farro

½ tsp salt

2 cups water

Directions for farro

Bring the farro, salt and the water to a boil in a heavy bottom saucepan. Then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook 20 minutes, or until they are nice and chewy. (Check the directions on your package of farro, it can cook in as little as 10 minutes).

Remove the saucepan from the heat, drain and set it aside to cool slightly.

Roasted Shallot Ingredients:

2 medium shallots, halved lengthwise and peeled

1 Tbl olive oil

Prepare roasted shallots:

Place shallot halves on a square of foil and drizzle lightly with olive oil and kosher salt. Tightly seal foil around them into a little packet and place on the baking sheet with squash. Roast for 15 minutes.

Then carefully open the foil packet with the shallots. Return the shallots to the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes. The shallot will not be brown or look caramelized, but will be tender, which is all we need. If you’d like, you can return the open foil packet to the oven for another 10 minutes for more color and flavor.

Roasted Shallot Vinaigrette Ingredients:

2 roasted shallots

3 Tbl sherry vinegar or balsamic vinegar, plus more to taste

4 Tbl olive oil

3/4 teaspoon smooth dijon mustard

1 to 2 tablespoons water, as needed

Directions for the Roasted Shallot Vinaigrette:

In a blender or food processor, put in the warm shallots with 4 tablespoons olive oil and blend until smooth, scraping down the bowl as needed. With the machine running, add Dijon mustard and 3 tablespoons vinegar, blending until smooth. Season well with salt and pepper, blending again. Taste and adjust with more vinegar, salt, and pepper as needed. If the dressing is very thick, you can thin it with 1 to 2 tablespoons water.

To serve: In a large wide bowl or salad plate, toss spinach with 1 Tbl of the dressing and season with additional salt and pepper and place on a platter. In the same bowl, add farrow, roasted vegetables and toss with 4-6 Tbl of vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper.

Arrange farrow and roasted vegetables over the green. Sprinkle salad with pomegranate and or dried cherries, and drizzle some of the remaining dressing over, to taste. Serve right away, with extra dressing on the side.

Roasted Vegetable and Farrow Salad with Roasted Shallot Vinaigrette