Most of the time "farro" refers to emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccum) but einkorn (Triticum monococcum) and spelt (Triticum spelta) are also referred to as "farro". Today farro is enjoying a renaissance. It is used in soups and salads, particularly in central Italy. Whole farro needs to be soaked in advance and cooked for nearly an hour in order to soften its nutritious husk. Meanwhile pearled farro, which has the outer husk removed along with the fibre and nutrition, cooks quickly. Here is a recipe for one of the most popular farro salads in Italy. The cooked and cooled farro grains are tossed with cherry tomatoes, olives, herbs and tuna and make a great light lunch. One of my favourite things to do when cooking for crowds is to make big platters of lots of different vegetables and seafood as a starter, eliminating any need to work around dietary requirements as they can serve themselves.