• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Cherry on my Sundae
  • Recipes
  • Travel
  • Connect
  • Private Kitchen LA
  • Subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • Travel
  • Connect
  • Private Kitchen LA
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
    • YouTube
  • ×
    Home » Recipes » Salad

    Cauliflower, Kale and Farro Salad

    Published: Dec 10, 2015 · This post may contain affiliate links

    Sharing is caring!

    I've been traveling for the past 4 weeks so it's hard for me to believe that it's going to be Christmas in 15 days. I love the holidays and I usually start feeling the holiday spirit come Thanksgiving, but this year I'm falling behind! No gifts have been bought, no tree has been decorated and no menus have been planned...the chaos! Today, I finally decided to get my act together and started to work on the Christmas menu. A roast is the traditional main dish in our household, but the side dishes are all open to the chef aka me. After figuring out that I wanted a cauliflower, rice, and salad dish in the mix, I decided to combine all of those ingredients into one. Here is my cauliflower, kale, and farro salad with a walnut vinaigrette, perfect as a side or as a healthy lunch!

    cauliflower kale and farro salad
    cauliflower, kale and farro salad
    cauliflower, kale and farro salad

    Recipe

    Print Recipe

    Cauliflower, Kale and Farro Salad

    Total Time1 hour hr
    Course: Salad
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: vegetarian
    Servings: 4
    Author: Cherry on My Sundae

    Ingredients

    Quick pickled red onion

    • ½ red onion thinly sliced
    • ½ cup white wine vinegar
    • 2 teaspoon sugar
    • 1 teaspoon salt

    Farro

    • 1 tablespoon oil
    • 2 garlic cloves sliced
    • ½ cup farro
    • ½ cup white wine
    • 1 ½ cup vegetable or chicken stock

    Cauliflower

    • 3 cups cauliflower
    • 2 cloves garlic sliced
    • 2 tablespoon olive oil
    • 1 teaspoon paprika
    • salt and pepper

    Walnut vinaigrette

    • 1 teaspoon olive oil
    • ½ cup walnuts toasted and chopped
    • 1 shallot minced
    • 1 ½ teaspoon dijon mustard
    • 3 tablespoon white wine vinegar
    • 1 tablespoon honey
    • ¼ cup olive oil
    • salt and pepper

    Kale

    • 1 bunch kale
    • juice of 1 lemon

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
    • Combine vinegar, sugar, and salt for the pickled red onions in a medium bowl. Stir until sugar and salt dissolved. Add red onions and stir. Let sit for at least 30 minutes.
    • Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add farro, stir and toast for 30 seconds. Add wine and cook until almost all evaporated. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook for 30 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat and set aside.
    • Roast the cauliflower. Cut into florets. Toss with garlic, olive oil, paprika, salt, and pepper. Spread on a baking sheet and roast for 20-25 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat and keep warm.
    • Prepare walnut vinaigrette. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and saute until shallots have softened about 1 minute. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl. Add the toasted walnuts, mustard, vinegar, and honey. Drizzle olive oil into the mixture, whisking constantly. Season with salt and pepper.
    • Remove stems from kale and tear big leaves into smaller pieces. Squeeze lemon juice and pour vinaigrette onto kale. Massage leaves until softened, making sure every kale is seasoned with the vinaigrette. Toss together with pickled red onions, farro, and roasted cauliflower, adding more vinaigrette. Can be served hot or cold.

    **Helpful tips and common mistakes

    Many, many years ago I made a green bean dish with a hazelnut dressing for an event. For some reason, I forgot about that dish until now and used that dressing as inspiration for this walnut vinaigrette. The roasted cauliflower, pickled red onion, and farro are good already, but toss everything with this walnut vinaigrette and it's a life-changer.

    farro

    Start by pickling the red onion. This is a quick pickling method so it only takes thirty minutes but you can also pickle the onions days before. While the red onion is sitting in the vinegar mixture, cook the farro. This is a simple farro pilaf recipe, cooking the grains in white wine and broth. You can omit the white wine and add more broth if you're not a fan of wine. You can also substitute the farro for barley, quinoa, or even wild rice and the dish would still be tasty.

    walnut vinaigrette ingredients

    While the farro is cooking, make the walnut dressing. This dressing is the key to making this salad extra delicious. Saute chopped shallots and mix it with chopped toasted walnuts, honey, dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, and olive oil. Make sure the nuts are toasted to maximize their flavor. If you like, use walnut oil with the walnuts for extra walnut-y flavor!

    massage the kale

    Massage the kale with a touch of lemon and the salad dressing to soften the leaves. If you skip this step, the kale will be tough - talk about a jaw workout! Top it with the roasted cauliflower, pickled onions, farro, and extra dressing.

    I had originally planned on adding shaved parmesan but completely forgot until after I ate it. It's not completely essential to the salad but add some shavings for that extra nutty, sharp taste. I absolutely loved this cauliflower, kale, and farro salad with the nutty tangy walnut dressing. Definitely adding this dish to the holiday menu!

    cauliflower, kale and farro salad

    For more salad inspiration check out this cherry nectarine arugula salad!


    Sharing is caring!

    More Salad

    • Sesame Soba Noodle Salad
    • Asian Sesame Chicken Salad
    • Warm Mushroom Kale Farro Salad
    • Thai Chili Shrimp Salad

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Primary Sidebar

    Hey there! My name is Christine and I'm a chef during the day and food blogger at night. Welcome to my world highlighting what's in season, sharing travel tidbits, and just living a simple life in the busy city of Los Angeles.

    More about me →

    Subscribe

    Join my email list and get recipes delivered straight to your inbox!

     
     
     
     
     

    Seasonal Favorites

    • Cranberry Pear Hand Pies
    • Prosciutto Wrapped Brussels Sprouts with Strawberry Balsamic
    • Hazelnut Chocolate Pie
    • Bruleed Cauliflower with Chorizo Breadcrumbs

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    • Pinterest
    • Instagram
    • TikTok
    • YouTube

    Privacy Policy