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Farro & Spinach Power Bowl with Chicken, Roasted Red Peppers, Feta and Avocado Tahini Cream

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The Washington Post recently ran an interesting piece rethinking salad.  They argue that for all the resources that go into growing lettuce, it provides pathetically few nutrients or calories.  Essentially, it uses a significant amount of land, water and fuel while doing very little to feed people. I thought they made a pretty compelling case that salad should be viewed as a luxury rather than a staple.  So what can replace salad that is both filling and nutritious?  Replace the lettuce in your salad with healthy whole grains and BOOM: you have  a POWER BOWL!

I’m sure you could find plenty of ethical fights to pick with this dish (are the chickens free range?  how much water went into growing those avocados!?) but I will say it is incredibly filling, very nutrient-dense and quite honestly one of the best lunches I’ve ever had.  I was actually inspired to try something with farro by an amazing dish we had at a recent work reception that included farro, spinach, feta, dried cherries and a thinner avocado cream sauce.  I had two helpings and couldn’t stop thinking about it, so I decided I should incorporate farro into my lunch.  I highly recommend this power bowl, which definitely makes the cut for the “this will be on the menu at my future restaurant” category!

Farro & Spinach Power Bowl with Chicken, Roasted Red Peppers, Feta and Avocado Tahini Cream

Adapted from Lovely Little Kitchen

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Ingredients:

  • ~1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 3 large red peppers, quartered with seeds and stem removed
  • sea salt & pepper
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 cup chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 9 oz dried farro (3- 4 cups cooked)
  • 4 cups baby spinach
  • 1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
  • 5 tablespoons salted, roasted sunflower seeds
  • 1 recipe avocado tahini cream (see below)

Ingredients:

  1. Brush chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper 350-375 degrees for 7-10 minutes, flip and bake for another 7-10 minutes.  Cut into fattest portion to ensure it’s cooked through.
  2. While the chicken is cooking, drizzle the red peppers with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Add to the oven and cook for 5-7 minutes on each side, or until soft.
  3. To assemble a power bowl, combine the farro, spinach, feta and chickpeas in a large bowl.  Cut chicken and peppers into bite sized pieces.
  4. If you’re serving all of it now, split farro/spinach mixture into five bowls and top each with an equal portion of chicken and peppers, stirring just slightly.  If you’re eating this for lunches all week, I recommend keeping the chicken and pepper separate from the farro/spinach until you are ready to prepare each bowl.
  5.  Top each bowl with a tablespoon of sunflower seeds and a generous dollop of avocado tahini cream!  To eat, I recommend stirring the cream into the salad.

Makes 5 Bowls/Servings

For the Avocado Tahini Cream: 

  • 1 large or 2 small ripe avocados, peeled and pit removed
  • 2 tablespoon tahini
  • 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • salt & pepper, to taste

Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.  Adjust as needed.

Johanna

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