Cilantro Lime Farro and Veggie Bowl

As the New Year approached, I decided to commit to Meatless Mondays in 2021, and so far, so good.  In fact, I am kinda loving it.  To this date, I have not eaten any meat on Mondays this year.  Thankfully, I have some vegetarian friends who are helping me out with some recipe suggestions, but I am starting the figure out what works for my typically carnivorous family.  For the record, they have yet to complain and, in fact, are largely enjoying seeing what I come up with on Mondays.  Not every Monday has a meal like this one - we have had some quick meals of veggie burgers and fries, for example - but this is one of my favorites, for sure.

The first time I made this was actually last summer with some veggies from my CSA bag (this recipe also began my love affair with farro).  I have made it several times since, the most recent time being the first that I used queso fresco cheese as a topping.  As it stands, my kids like the queso fresco on this meal, but my husband and I both prefer the feta.  In my opinion, you never go wrong with roasted veggies, farro, and cheese...but add this cilantro, honey, lime drizzle and mmmmm...amazing.

INGREDIENTS:

• 
  3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 3/4 teaspoon ancho chile powder
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 medium zucchini, chopped
• 2 medium yellow squash, chopped
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 2 red or orange peppers, chopped
• green onions, chopped
• 2 cups (uncooked) pearled farro
• 1 (15-oz.) can unsalted black beans, rinsed and drained
• 3 ounces queso fresco, crumbled (about 3/4 cup) OR Feta cheese
• 1 medium avocado, sliced
• Lime wedges

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  In a large bowl, toss chopped veggies (zucchini, squash, red onion, peppers, green onion) with some olive oil, salt and pepper.  Spread evenly (one layer, preferrably) on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake for 15 minutes. rearrange veggies and bake for 10-15 minutes more.
2. Meanwhile, cook farro as directed.  I use a pressure cooker: add 2 cups pearled farro, 4 cups water, 1/2 tsp salt to pressure cooker.  Set timer to 10 minutes.  Allow to naturally release for at least 5 minutes.
3. While farro and veggies are cooking, mix the first 7 ingredients in a large bowl.  Reserve about 1 1/2 T of the mixture.  Add cooked farro to the bowl; toss to coat.
4. Serve farro topped with grilled veggies, beans, avocado, cheese and the reserved sauce.  Garnish with a lime, if desired.

Difficulty: easy - but a decent amount of chopping involved

Time: about 15 minutes of prep and 30 minutes of roasting

Source: modified from https://www.cookinglight.com/recipes/farro-burrito-bowls