More grain bowls!
This month’s recipe is a really easy grain bowl that only requires cooking one thing — the farro on the stovetop. Everything else is just diced up and tossed together.
I often talk about how Ryan and I both love our grain bowls. To be honest, Ryan doesn’t love grain bowls in the same way that I do. He often snags them out of the refrigerator when I make them in advance for myself and he needs a last-minute lunch to bring down to the station, or he’s feeling snack-y and it just so happens that my grain bowls are the only pre-prepared food in the fridge.
But, for some reason, this grain bowl recipe is one that he actually does genuinely love.
And I love it, too! The tart apples and acidic lemon juice are soothed by sweet honey, and all combine so well with sharp crumbly aged cheddar, crunchy celery and hearty walnuts.
This recipe makes 4-6 servings, depending on serving size.
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INGREDIENTS:
Quick note: These measurements are estimations. You can add more or less of each ingredient to taste.
- 2 granny smith apples
- 1 cup uncooked farro
- 1 head celery
- 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp honey (plus more for drizzling)
- 1/2 cup walnut halves
- 1 block aged crumbly cheddar cheese
- Salt to taste
- Salt (to taste)
- Freshly cracked black pepper (to taste)
- Feta cheese (omit for vegan)
- Optional: Spinach
PROCESS:
Start by cooking your farro. Add the cup of farro to a pot of salted water and cook according to package instructions.
Tip: If you’re planning on making this in advance, slightly undercook the farro by a few minutes so it can soak up some of the extra lemon-honey dressing. This keeps the cheese and walnuts from getting soggy. If you plan to eat right away, cook according to package instructions.
While the farro is cooking, begin to prep the rest of the ingredients. Core and dice both apples. Put them in a large bowl and juice the lemon overtop. Give everything a real good stir to make sure the apples are well-coated in the lemon juice. This will keep them from going brown. Once the apples are well coated, add in the honey.
Tip: Slightly warm the honey before adding to help it mix better.
Remove the roots and leaves from your head of celery, and discard the internal bitter yellow stalks. You should be left with between six and nine or so green stalks. Chop and add to the bowl. Stir to prevent the cut ends from oxidizing.
Once the farro is cooked, drain and set aside to cool. Once cool, mix the farro in with your apples, lemon juice, honey and celery. Dice or crumble your cheddar cheese, and set aside. Do the same with your walnuts.
At this point, you have a few options. If you’re planning on eating right away, you can use a slotted spoon to remove the grain salad from the mixing bowl, top with your cheddar and walnuts, and eat. Drizzle a little extra honey overtop.
If you’re preparing this in advance, you can portion out servings and include a little bit of the liquid from the bottom of the bowl so it all absorbs in the fridge. You can top with your cheddar and walnuts prior to storing (I haven’t had any problem with my grain bowl going soggy if the cheese and nuts remain on top) or store separately and add right before eating.
Serve cold. You can eat as-is, or layer this mixture over a bed of fresh spinach to create a salad.
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Enjoy!
