Farro Salad with Roasted Fennel, Pomegranate and Avocado

Salads | June 21, 2015 | By Nathalie

A routine Saturday at our cottage – and a perfect day in my mind – consists of a slow start, a morning outing to town or a farmer’s market, a homemade lunch and a lazy afternoon consisting of napping and reading our books on the deck. Putting a little more effort into weekend lunches somehow justifies an afternoon of doing not much at all for me. This warm salad isn’t hard to prepare though and is a welcome change from a ziploc container of cold leftovers that’s in front of me most days for lunch. It’s the perfect lazy summer day recipe; easy but interesting. And as the saying goes, “after lunch rest a while, after dinner walk a mile” – good words to live by, I think.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups farro
2 1/2 cups water
1 zucchini
1 medium bulb of fennel
1 white onion
4 tbsp olive oil + 2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp + 2 tsp kosher salt
Cumin
Paprika
2 cups salad greens
1/4 cup fresh basil
Handful of fresh oregano
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 pomegranate
1 ripe avocado

1. Bring water to a boil in a small pot. Add the farro and cover, turning the heat down to low. Let simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 20 – 30 minutes or until tender and chewy.

2. Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

3. Thinly slice zucchini, fennel bulb and onion into a mixing bowl. Add the 4 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp salt and sprinkle with paprika and cumin. Mix together and spread out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 15 minutes or until vegetables are golden and softened.
4. Roughly chop salad greens, basil and oregano and place in a large bowl.5. De-seed your pomegranate. The best way I’ve found to do this is by submerging it in water and squeezing out the seeds – this way the juice won’t splash up on you.6. Once farro is cooked, pour on top of salad greens. Drizzle with the 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp kosher salt and juice of half a lemon. 7. Top with the veggies, slices of avocado and pomegranates. Enjoy! Follow me on instagram to see more pictures! “thecountertop”