Green Bean and Farro Picnic Salad

What constitutes a picnic salad, exactly? It’s a simple dish built to be packed up into a reusable container, toted to the park, and shared. A picnic salad is no worse for being eaten in direct sunlight—though it also excels straight from the fridge, making it an ideal make-ahead work lunch option. It’s zippy and light, but hearty enough to be a full meal if all that your friends bring is a pack of Solo cups and a bottle of rosé. It’s got pickled peppers for punch, white beans for protein, and cheese (two kinds!) for fun. The green beans get lightly smashed in a zip-top bag, taking on the flavors of the dressing but staying bright green and crisp, even after a few hours swimming in vinaigrette. The farro cooks in the same pot the green beans did, while they’re getting their marinade on (that’s called time management). You could even blanch the beans one day, stick them in the fridge overnight to marinate, and cook off the grains just before you want to serve. Picnic salad is the star of the potluck, the beach trip, the backyard hang. People will request the recipe. They can find it below.

Seek out farro with “semi-pearled” on the label—this means that some of the outer hull of the grain has been removed, helping it cook in less time than whole grain farro while also retaining some fiber and hearty texture. “Pearled” farro cooks the speediest of all, but it eats more like rice without farro’s characteristic chew.