Bring the water to a boil with the salt and bay leaf if using. Add the farro and simmer uncovered for 22–30 minutes, depending on the type, until tender but still chewy. Drain well. Remove the bay leaf. Spread the farro on a tray and toss with 1 tbsp olive oil. Let it cool for 10–15 minutes. Farro should be chewy and separate, not soft like porridge. If it is overcooked, the salad becomes heavy and wet. That genuinely chewy, distinct texture protects the entire salad's own intended lightness — grains cooked past this point would begin breaking down, turning the whole dish considerably heavier and wetter than intended.

Heat the oven to 220°C / 425°F. Place the zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and red onion on a large baking tray. Toss with olive oil, salt, black pepper, and oregano. Roast for 22–28 minutes, turning once, until zucchini is golden at the edges, tomatoes are blistered and slightly collapsed, and onion is softened and lightly charred. Let the vegetables cool for 5–10 minutes before mixing. The vegetables should be roasted enough to concentrate their sweetness, but not so soft that they fall apart completely in the salad. That specific, checkable target — real colour and softening without full collapse — protects each vegetable's own distinct identity in the finished salad, rather than letting them dissolve into an undifferentiated mass.

Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan over medium-low heat for 2–4 minutes, stirring often, until golden and fragrant. Transfer immediately to a plate. Pine nuts burn very quickly. Remove them from the pan as soon as they are golden. That immediate transfer off the hot pan protects the pine nuts from their own real, narrow margin between properly toasted and burnt — leaving them in even briefly longer, on residual pan heat alone, risks tipping them into real bitterness.

Whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic, honey, salt, and black pepper. Taste and adjust. It should be bright, tangy, and slightly sharp because the farro will absorb some of the acidity. That deliberate sharpness accounts for real, predictable dilution once the grains soak up a portion of the dressing's own acidity, protecting the finished salad from tasting flat.

Place the warm or room-temperature farro in a large bowl. Add about two-thirds of the vinaigrette and toss well. Let it sit for 5 minutes so the grains absorb the dressing. Dressing the farro before adding the cheese and basil gives better flavor without bruising the delicate ingredients. That deliberate sequencing, dressing the grain first, lets the vinaigrette actually work into every kernel before the more fragile basil and crumbled cheese are ever introduced to the tossing process.

Add the roasted zucchini, tomatoes, and red onion to the dressed farro. Toss gently. Fold in most of the basil, most of the ricotta salata, and most of the pine nuts. Transfer to a wide serving bowl. Finish with the remaining ricotta salata, pine nuts, basil leaves, a little extra olive oil, and black pepper. Serve slightly warm, room temperature, or lightly chilled. Reserving a portion of ricotta salata, pine nuts, and basil specifically for this final finish keeps those elements genuinely visible and fresh right at the surface of the finished salad.