What constitutes a picnic salad, precisely? It’s a easy dish constructed to be packed up into a reusable container, toted to the park, and shared. A picnic salad is not any worse for being eaten in direct daylight—although it additionally excels straight from the fridge, making it a super make-ahead work lunch possibility. It’s zippy and lightweight, however hearty sufficient to be a full meal if all that your mates convey is a pack of Solo cups and a bottle of rosé. It’s bought pickled peppers for punch, white beans for protein, and cheese (two varieties!) for enjoyable. The inexperienced beans get evenly smashed in a zip-top bag, taking over the flavors of the dressing however staying vivid inexperienced and crisp, even after a couple of hours swimming in French dressing. The farro cooks in the identical pot the inexperienced beans did, whereas they’re getting their marinade on (that’s known as time administration). You may even blanch the beans sooner or later, stick them within the fridge in a single day to marinate, and cook dinner off the grains simply earlier than you need to serve. Picnic salad is the star of the potluck, the seaside journey, the yard dangle. Folks will request the recipe. They’ll discover it under.
Hunt down farro with “semi-pearled” on the label—because of this among the outer hull of the grain has been eliminated, serving to it cook dinner in much less time than complete grain farro whereas additionally retaining some fiber and hearty texture. “Pearled” farro cooks the speediest of all, however it eats extra like rice with out farro’s attribute chew.
