Recipe of the Day ...

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Farro with Roasted Sweet Potato, Kale and Pomegranate Seeds (and my custom mods in bold)




1cup semi-pearled or regular farro (I don't know what this is so I would probably substitute cooked organic brown rice)




Extra virgin olive oil




1 Medium onion, halved and halves cut into 1/4 inch wedges




Salt (or not)




1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into half-inch cubes (about 2 1/4 cups)




1/2  teaspoon ground cumin




1/2  teaspoon ground coriander




1/3  cup shelled, raw walnuts (Or chopped walnuts from a bag)




3  cups packed, roughly chopped kale (stems removed before chopping)




1 large garlic clove, minced




Fresh  lemon juice




Freshly ground black pepper




1/2  cup pomegranate seeds (Or I would use organic dried cranberries cause I always have those. )




Combine farro with 4 cups water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until grains are nearly tender (about 20 minutes). Add one teaspoon salt, stir and simmer until grains are tender (another 10 minutes or so). Drain excess water, then place grains into a large bowl and allow to cool.




(Or make some brown rice according to directions on package)




Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss onion with enough oil to lightly coat, but not soak.


Spread across a baking sheet and sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt. Toss sweet potato with oil in a similar fashion and spread on a separate sheet pan.




Sprinkle with cumin, coriander and a pinch of salt. Place both baking sheets in the oven and roast until vegetables are tender and onions have begun to brown. The onions will be done before the sweet potatoes. Stir and turn vegetables at least once during cooking.



When vegetables are nearly done roasting, spread walnuts on a third sheet (or in an oven-safe dish, if you've run out of baking sheets) and toast until they have darkened in color and are fragrant (place your nose close, but not too close, to the pan to take a whiff), about 5 to 8 minutes. Keep a watchful eye on the nuts as they will quickly burn in a hot oven. If you prefer, wait until vegetables have finished cooking and been removed from the oven. Turn the temperature down and toast the nuts.


When nuts are done, cool completely, then roughly chop into small pieces.




(Lots of times I don't bother with the oven I just lightly oil a good big thick stainless steel pan and cook over very low heat so I don't heat up the whole house. Then you can take the veggies out, throw the kale and a bit more oil in and cook it, and you only have the one pan to clean. I rarely toast nuts, I just use them right out of the bag. Get the ones that are already chopped.)




While vegetables and nuts cook, heat 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet.


Add kale and garlic and lightly sauté until kale has wilted but is still bright green in color. Stir to cook evenly. Scrape cooked greens mixture into the bowl with farro. (or rice)




Add sweet potato and onion. Fold the ingredients together, then drizzle with a bit of fruity extra virgin olive oil to moisten (a tablespoon or so) plus lemon juice to taste (about one tablespoon, or less if you are using ordinary lemon juice). Taste and add more salt as needed, plus a few grinds of fresh pepper. Gently stir in walnuts and pomegranate seeds. (or dried cranberries)


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