Oh balsamic reduction, where have you been all my life? I’ve probably eaten this gorgeous liquid gold a few times in restaurants, but this is the first time I’ve made it. And I have been eating it with everything since–vanilla ice cream, pasta salad, bread, creamy cheese… It’s so darned good.
This salad would be better with arugla/rocket leaves but I had to use what I had to use; a dark green, soft-leaved romaine. Pecorino cheese is super salty and you need it to complement the acidic and sweet balsamic sauce. Everything in this simple salad goes together in perfect harmony.

Ingredients for 2 people
1 cup farro
About 2 cups fresh rocket or soft lettuce, washed and torn
Pecorino (or similar salty cheese) diced or grated
About 12 grape tomatoes, halved diagonally
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tsp sugar
extra virgin olive oil
fresh cracked black pepper
Extra pecorino to serve

1) Cook the farro according to directions and set aside to cool. I tend to use 1:2 farro to water.
2) Gently heat up the balsamic vinegar in a small pot and whisk in the sugar. Let reduce to a thick (but still runny) syrup. Watch it to make sure it doesn’t get too thick. About 5 minutes. Let cool.
3) Drizzle the cooked farro with the olive oil and mix to coat.
4) Add in the lettuce, tomatoes and pecorino cheese. Add a little more extra virgin olive oil and toss.
5) Plate the salad and drizzle about 1 tsp each of the balsamic reduction over the salad and grind some pepper over it. Serve with grated or shaved pecorino.