Farro Niçoise
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- 1cup farro
- Salt
- 1pound green beans, trimmed
- 3anchovy fillets
- ⅓cup olive oil, plus more if needed
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Juice of 2 lemons, plus more if needed
- 1teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1shallot, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1tablespoon capers
- 16-ounce can good tuna in olive oil
- ½cup parsley leaves
- Ground black pepper
- 3ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
- 4hard-cooked eggs, halved
- ½cup niçoise or other black olives
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
566 calories; 30 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 18 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 53 grams carbohydrates; 12 grams dietary fiber; 12 grams sugars; 29 grams protein; 1069 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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- Step 1
Put the farro and a large pinch salt in a medium saucepan with water to cover by about an inch. Bring to a boil, then adjust the heat so the mixture bubbles gently. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the farro is tender but still has bite, 20 to 30 minutes. Add water if necessary to keep the grains covered; if any liquid remains by the time the farro is tender, strain it out.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, bring another medium pan of water to a boil and salt it. Add the green beans and cook until bright green and crisp-tender, 2 minutes or so, then plunge them into a bowl of ice water or run under cold water to cool them.
- Step 3
Put the anchovies, olive oil, lemon zest and juice, mustard, shallot and capers in a food processor and purée. Chop the tuna and parsley by hand and mix them in. (Alternatively, add the parsley to the food processor and pulse to chop, then add the tuna and pulse, once or twice, to blend. Don’t purée the tuna but chop it well.) The mixture should be pourable; if it isn’t, add lemon juice, olive oil or water to thin a bit. Add pepper, then taste and adjust the seasoning.
- Step 4
Toss the farro, warm, with about half the dressing. Taste and adjust the seasoning, and pile it on a platter. Arrange the green beans, tomatoes, eggs and olives around the farro, as artfully as you like. Drizzle the remaining dressing over them and serve.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Sheila
By "good tuna" I hope Mark means Italian Tuna. Do not even try this with Bumble Bee. Get the Italian Tuna in (preferably) a jar or can. It makes this dish. You can't get away with anything but the freshest and best ingredients in this dish. I've served it at a dinner party, luncheon, bookclub meeting and just me. Healthy and delicious. In Italy they serve Farro as a salad often in the summer. This makes it a great complete meal.
Mimi cooks
Wow, what a great idea, and the tuna becomes an accent instead of big dry chunks. I like to chunk or puree the olives then blend in aioli as a thicker topping for the tuna, egg & tomato, rather than an acidic dressing.
Harriett
We love anything Niçoise and we love farro so this exceeded my expectations. We had gorgeous fresh tuna from Costco so I sushi-seared that and sliced it onto the platter. The thing I love about Niçoise is that it’s so NOT labor-intensive: most of the work can be done ahead. Mixing a portion of the dressing into the warm chewy farro took it to another level, and I drizzled some of the dressing over the other components. The leftover farro, tomatoes and beans are ready for lunch another day.
MaryO
Great also with mix of quinoa and black beans, topped with grilled fresh tuna and not much extra prep.
Melissa
This recipe is so much more flavorful than it seems like it would be. I used TJs 10 min farro and a single bag was perfect for 4. I also subbed basil for parsley because it is what I had and was delicious. I used 3 lemons and a little extra olive oil to get a pourable dressing and added a few roast beets I had hanging around. This is a keeper.
playwritingmum
This dish satisfies everyone—pescatarians, healthy eating, real food, and especially epicureans. It’s (pretty) easy—I’m a very unnatural cook, so every dish, it’s like I’m dismantling a bomb, I have to follow it like my life depends on it, I have no natural inclinations) and this is really truly SO delicious. My only possibly helpful observation is that it would be best with canned tuna fillets (like Wild Planet Wild Yellowtail fillets) vs food-processed tuna—I mean isn’t that just tuna salad?
Joan
I've made this twice now with very good Italian tinned tuna! It is a winner!
Gary
I really liked this recipe and loved the tangy, bright dressing. I didn't like and think it is a mistake to mix the chopped tuna into the dressing. I chopped some tuna and added to dressing and it was no longer pourable. Plus it just doesn't look appetizing with the tuna mixed in and poured over the vegetables. I'll make again but will add the tuna to the farro and NOT the dressing.
JM
Delish! Even with strategic reuse, this uses a lot of pots!
ce
Delicious. Double the tuna and didn’t use the processor. Can all be done by hand. Used anchovy paste instead of anchovies.
Susan
waaaay too much lemon for me. I like the concept and it can be tweaked but two lemons plus lemon rind was overpowering.
Anna
Fantastic! I needed to add a lot of salt and cracked pepper.
Bern
The flavors and textures were great, but the proportions were off — not enough tuna and too many green beans/tomatoes.
JaneN
I made this for lunch when some friends were visiting. My lemons were large and juicy, so I only used 1.5. To me the dressing was a tiny bit too acidic, but it still turned out fabulous and got rave reviews!
Melanie
Delicious! I’ve made this several times, exactly as written is best but a few subs work too. I love to add celery and walnuts. Sometimes I don’t have lemon so I use lime or vinegar and often I just mix up the dressing in a bowl, flake in the tuna and toss everything together. Mark Bittman always delivers :)
Kristin
As I live in Maine, I have made this dish multiple times with fresh Maine crabmeat, though lobster and tuna work, too. Double or triple the dressing...it's great on many things! Mix the dressing in with the warm farro, and also add chopped fresh parsley to the farro. Then mix dressing in with the crabmeat--the lemon accentuates the sweetness of the crabmeat--along with a bit more fresh parsley. A summer treat with tomatoes and parsley from the garden!
Lynn Blin
I used a mixture of boulgour and quinoa (12 minutes). Since nobody ( but me) likes anchovies, I added salt but made the dressing directly in the salad bowl. Then added all the ingredients to the dressing. Perfect! Definitely a keeper.
Lynn Blin
You don’t need the blender. Just put the dressing directly into the bowl. Didn’t havé anchovies, used salt instead. Definitely a keeper. Didn’t have farro. Any grain will do. Used 12 minute quinoa and boulgour.
Kristin
I've made this recipe several times using fresh Maine crabmeat though I do not mix it as the recipe indicates. I dress the farro with dressing to coat and mix in some chopped parsley. Separately, I then mix a bit of additional dressing with the crabmeat and a bit more parsley. Finally, after piling all on a platter, I serve a generous portion of dressing in a small pitcher so folks can dress all the goodies to their taste. I have also added a bit of sliced avocado. Never had a complaint!
Sarah H.
Very good! Very lemony. I added a can of black beans to the farro to increase fiber. Added another can of tuna and doubled the dressing. Next time I’ll put in two cans of black beans, added tuna, and double the dressing. Included thinly sliced orange peppers and red onion as well.
Cknich
I sautéed a couple of filets of salmon for this and it was perfect. Love the dressing and the bite of the farro! Keeper!
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