Farro salad is the ideal filling for this stuffed mini sweet peppers recipe. And better yet, the sprinkling of mild, salty ricotta salata is a perfect finish.
Last summer, I discovered farro and fell in love. It’s an ancient grain that’s a form of wheat that can be enjoyed hot or cold. But what I don’t love about it is that it takes a bit of planning to make. See, farro typically has to cook for an hour before it’s tender and ready to use.
The torture.
So we don’t have it as much as I would like to. Or, rather, we didn’t until I discovered that quick-cooking farro is gaining in popularity (hallelujah!). Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods are both carrying varieties that can be whipped up in a fraction of the time, which makes me so excited. I take it as a sign that the realm of grains eaten in American households is expanding — a definite good thing.
There’s also Tuscan Fields, a company that makes organic Italian farro, that recently sent me some to try out. The Farro Perlato is an organic semi-pearled farro that cooks in about 20 minutes. It’s perfect for dishes like this. And the shorter cooking time makes farro a more reasonable dinnertime side dish. Good news all around, right?
This recipe for Farro Stuffed Mini Sweet Peppers with Ricotta Salata combines some personal favorites — a light, easy farro salad. Sweet fresh tomatoes. Crisp, cool mini sweet peppers … and of course, a bit of ricotta salata. Ricotta salata has a texture similar to feta, but a flavor that’s a saltier version of ricotta. It’s heavenly with it’s teensy-bit sweet notes wrapped in a well-salted package — and a nice finish on the earthy farro and chopped tomatoes.
Aren’t these the cutest hand-held appetizers? These little appetizer bites are good enough to eat for lunch or to serve as an appetizer for Easter, Sunday dinner or whenever.
Farro Stuffed Mini Sweet Peppers with Ricotta Salata
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup cooked farro
- 1/4 cup finely chopped cherry tomatoes
- 2 tsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 pint mini sweet peppers, about 12-14 peppers
- 1 oz crumbled ricotta salata
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, stir together the farro, tomatoes, vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Cut the stems off the mini sweet peppers and slice down the center, removing the ribs and seeds. Divide the farro salad evenly among the mini sweet peppers.
- Sprinkle a little ricotta salata over each of the mini sweet peppers. Serve immediately or chill until ready to serve.
Disclosure: I was provided samples by Tuscan Fields to try, but was not required to write anything about them. I wasn’t compensated in any way for this post. All opinions are my own.
35 Healthy Appetizers
Monday 29th of December 2014
[…] Farro Stuffed Mini Sweet Peppers with Ricotta Salata from Sarah’s Cucina Bella […]
Aviva Goldfarb
Monday 18th of February 2013
These look incredible, Sarah, I can't wait to try them. I've actually never made anything with ricotta salata but now I'm inspired, and I'm always looking for new ways to enjoy healthy and delicious ingredients like Tuscan Fields farro, sweet peppers and tomatoes.