Fennel & Farro Salad Recipe

Start Cooking the Farro

1. The longest task when making this salad is cooking the farro. Start by bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the farro and cook until tender about 20 minutes.
2. When the farro is done, drain and reserve in a large bowl. Wash the pot you cooked the farro, you'll be using it to cook the rest of this dish.

Prep the Ingredients

1. While the farro is cooking, it's time to prep the rest of the ingredients. Be sure to wash and dry any and all of the fresh greens.
2. Shell the English peas, reserving the peas and discarding the pods.
3. Remove the stems from the fennel bulbs and discard. Cut the bulbs in half lengthwise and carefully cut out and throw out the cores. Thinly slice the fennel bulb cutting crosswise.
4. Cut the onions in half, peel and cut into thin slices. Roughly chop the pea tips
5. Zest one of the lemons to get 4 teaspoons of zest. Quarter both lemons, remove as many seeds as you can and reserve.
6. Pluck the leaves off the mint stems, save the leaves, discard the stems.

Let's Get Cooking

1. Bring a small pot of water to a boil and blanch the peas for 4 to 5 minutes until they turn brightly green.
2. Drain through a colander and rinse under cold water for a minute to stop the cooking. Reserve.
3. In the pot you cooked the farro, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat until hot. Add the onion, fennel and za'atar.
4. Cook until the fennel softens and these ingredients become fragrant, about 8 to 11 minutes. Be sure to give an occasional stir so nothing burns and sticks to the bottom of the pot.
5. To this pot, add the pea tips and sunflower seeds and season with salt & pepper. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until the pea tips turn bright green. Remove the pot from the heat.
6. Add the reserved farro, blanched peas, lemon zest, pomegranate molasses and the juice from 4 lemon wedges.
7. Drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil into the mix, season with salt & pepper, taste, and adjust seasonings.
8. Transfer to a large serving bowl, garnish with the feta cheese and mint leaves and serve.