spa day bowls

Begin by making the lentil & farro salad. Place dry lentils, farro, water, and salt in a medium pot and bring the water to a boil. Once it reaches a rolling boil, reduce the heat, place a lid slightly askew on the pot, and allow everything to simmer for 35-40 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 F.

Then wash and slice the fennel bulb. Cut off the bottom of the bulb and discard it. Cut off the fronds and set them aside for later. Then set the bulb on its base and slice it in half the short way. Now set each half of the bulb on the cutting board with the side you just cut down on the board. Slice the fennel very thinly with a sharp knife. It slices should resemble sliced celery.

Next, use a sharp knife to cut the squash. Cut off the top and bottom of the squash, and set the squash down on the cutting board on it's base. Proceed to slice it into 16 wedges. Then trim the skin off.

Congrats! That was the hardest part of the whole process ;)

Now toss the fennel and squash with 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (I know it seems like kind of a lot but don't skimp on this. The fennel cooks best in fat), and a quarter teaspoon each of salt, cumin, and coriander seed. Arrange the vegetables evenly over a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and place it in the oven to roast. Set a timer for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, remove the squash and fennel from the oven and give all the vegetables a stir. Add the walnuts to the tray and place everything back in the oven to roast for a final 20 minutes.

When the lentils and farro are done (after 35-40 minutes of simmering), and the texture is to your liking (we like them rather al-dente for a salad but give them a taste and see what you like), strain off any excess water and set them aside to slightly cool.

While lentils and farro are cooling and the squash and fennel are in their final 20 minutes of roasting, prepare the fresh salad. Halve and thinly slice one cucumber; thinly slice one green apple; and finely chop the fennel fronds and stems you set aside earlier. Add everything to a medium salad bowl. Then set the salad aside until it's nearly ready to be served.

When the lentils and farro have slightly cooled, finish making the salad. Gently mix in 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil, 1 Tablespoon lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon coriander seed, 5 figs (sliced into quarters), leaves from 2 stems of fresh thyme, and 1 cup of arugula. Set the salad aside (at room temperature) until you are ready to serve.