Mediterranean Farro and Green Lentil GRAIN Bowl with Feta, Olives and Sundried Tomatoes
This recipe was inspired by, believe it or not, airport food!! I know… I was just as shocked as you guys, but bear with me.
On the way home from our Honeymoon this fall, we had a layover in Copenhagen. I was starving when we got off our first flight and was excited to walk right into a cute little cafe, straight out of our gate. It had amazing salads, grain bowls, sandwiches on fresh herb breads stuffed with tons of goodies..my jaw literally dropped when I picked up one of the bowls and there was a 7-Eleven Sticker on it. I actually had to show Meik for proof that my eyes weren’t tricking me after an almost sleepless night.
For those of you not living in North America, 7-Eleven for us is pretty much slushes, taquitos and an endless variety of chips, candies and soft drink options. Apparently they do it differently in Europe…Canadian 7-eleven people can you please take note?!
Anyways, it was absolutely delish! I knew I had to re-create it as soon as I got home. So here we are.
As you might have read a couple of week’s back, I had the pleasure of meeting Shira and Janna, the lovely founders of GRAIN, at the EAT! Vancouver Festival. Their products have been on my radar for awhile but I hadn’t yet had the chance to try them out. I really enjoyed chatting with them and getting to know more about their amazing company and couldn’t wait to get in the kitchen with their grains and legumes.
Not only is the quality of their products top notch, but I love everything they are about. They source only from Canadian farmers with a mission to connect consumers with the highest quality local products and support our Canadian economy so that these hard working farmers can continue to do what they are most passionate about.
Their message about knowing your farmers, knowing where your food comes from and caring about it really resonates with me. Supporting local is always a good thing and on top of that, it brings us back to the message of mindful eating, caring about how our food gets to us and how it impacts our bodies and our environment.
I am absolutely loving everything I am seeing and hearing these days that really does seem to support that the latest trend of eating whole food, local food and real FOOD instead of food like products is here to stay.
It’s been a long time since I’ve cooked with Farro and I couldn’t be happier to have rediscovered it. If you’ve never tried farro before you need to get on it. Farro is an ancient strain of wheat in it’s most unprocessed form. It is so hearty and flavorful, I can’t really do it justice trying to explain it so you’re just going to have to try it for yourself 🙂
This was also my first time actually cooking my own lentils, crazy right?! It was so much easier than I had imagined it to be. You literally just let them boil for 45 minutes. If this feels like too much of a commitment, Shira recommends cooking up the whole box and freezing whatever you don’t use for later use. Yep, you can freeze lentils.
This recipe is so simple, besides the cooking time for the farro and lentils, there really isn’t much to do. I recommend pouring a glass of wine, lighting a candle and reading your favorite book while your dinner prepares itself 🙂
I have been eating this on repeat and can’t wait for you to try it! It is perfect for leftovers and fits perfectly into a jar for a tasty and beautiful weekday lunch.
I’d love to hear what you think of the farro and the dish in general. Follow me on Instagram and leave a comment or tag your own creations with #inthekitchenwithLJ to show me what you’re up to!
Mediterranean Farro and Green Lentil GRAIN Bowl
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This fiber and protein packed bowl is the perfect batch prep lunch or dinner. Lentils add iron and delicious plant based protein and and spinach gives you a good dose of daily greens!
Ingredients
- 4 cups water
- 1 cup GRAIN farro
- 1 cup GRAIN lentils
- ⅓ cup feta cheese
- ⅓ cup pitted, sundried black olives
- 8 cups baby spinach
- ¼ cup sundried tomatoes, chopped
- ½ cup hummus
Dressing
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Coarse salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place water and farro in a medium-sized pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat to bring it to a simmer and cook, covered, until beginning to get tender, about 45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in another medium-sized pot, add lentils with 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer until tender with a slight bite, about 45 minutes.
- Once the farro and lentils are done cooking, drain any remaining water.
- Divide the spinach between 4 bowls, followed by the farro, lentils and remaining ingredients. Finish each bowl off with a drizzle of olive oil, squeeze of lemon and salt and pepper to taste. Toss ingredients lightly to blend all the flavors.
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Enjoy!
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Hi there,
I’m thinking about batch cooking this recipe for lunches. Can you say more about if this freezes well? Defrosting instructions? Also, portion size?
Thank you!
Yes! This would totally freeze well! I’d just leave out the fresh spinach. For defrosting I’d just take it out the night before or defrost in microwave in a pinch! And for servings size it would be 3-4 depending on main or side, that being said serving size is totally a guide! Will differ based on individual needs/appetite etc. Hope that helps. Can’t wait to hear what you think Hannah!
Hi Lindsay, I love this recipe! Thank you! I’ve batched prepped it for lunch the past two weeks and it’s been great. Two questions:
1. Is it okay to eat this every day for lunch? My other meals for 3-2-1’s as well. Just not sure about if it’s okay to repeat so much.
2. Can I replace chickpeas for lentils in this? If so, are the portions equivalent (1 cup dried?) to this lentil recipe?
Thank you so much!!
Hi Hannah! Great questions! 1. yes, you can totally eat this daily! Especially when you’re getting variety at other meals and throughout the week. Plus, within this meal there is actually lot of variety of nutrients in itself! 2. Yes, you can absolutely replace the lentils for chickpeas! as far s yield it is fairly similar – 1 cup lentils will yield about 2 1/2 cups cooked and for chickpeas it would be around 3 cups give or take. so I’d say an even swap would totally work! Let me know how it goes!! enjoy!