This warm kale farro salad is inspired by the flavors of mujadara, with caramelized onions and fennel, and lentils! The perfect healthy and satisfying make ahead grain salad. Serve with feta, toasted pistachios and harissa!

Warm Kale Farro Salad with Lentils, Caramelized Onions and Fennel

Happy Monday! Gah, I'm really wishing it was another Sunday - I could use a lazy day! This past weekend my parents came in town from Virginia. Turns out its tough keeping up with 50 and 60-year olds. Friday night we went to Craft and Draft for local beers, then out to dinner at our favorite Thai restaurant, Baan Sawan. I’ve been lucky to have really good Thai food in a lot of places I’ve lived in (Atlanta, Northern Virginia, etc), and Baan Sawan might be my favorite! Then on Saturday, after shopping at Devine St.’s semi-annual sidewalk sale and snagging a really cute vintage winter skirt (and tried on a dress once owned by Paula Abdul on consignment!), we went out to City Roots, our local organic farm, for a pig and oyster roast. We enjoyed incredible barbecue, awesome sides (holy blue cheese coleslaw and pimento mac and cheese!) and hot roasted SC oysters. Oh, and a few too many Westbrook IPAs, hence the need for a second Sunday.

If I felt a little more functional this Sunday, I probably would have whipped up my current favorite make ahead lunch - this warm kale and farro salad recipe. It's kind of a mishmash between a old favorite recipe from orangette and a heirloom brown rice bowl with harissa I had while we were in Arizona last month. It is also very much inspired by mujadara, a Lebanese dish of rice and lentils with crispy, caramelized onions. It’s one of those dishes that is so super satisfying, with a mix of flavors and textures that makes this a recipe with leftovers you won’t tire of. This warm kale and farro salad recipe also packed with veggies and whole grains, in a way that highlights their flavors rather than forcing them down your throat.

How to Make this Warm Kale Farro Salad Recipe

This warm farro salad recipe is made by mixing farro with lentils, caramelized fennel and onions, and garlicky sautéed kale. It’s garnished with toasted pistachios, feta cheese, fresh dill, and either harissa or calabrian chili paste. It takes a bit of time with all the different pots, but it’s well worth it!

To make it, first cook the farro and lentils in separate pots. Drain and set aside while preparing the other ingredients. If you have enough burners for it (I don’t! My oven sucks!), caramelize thinly sliced sweet onions and fennel while the lentils and farro cook. To caramelize them, I like to start them in hot olive oil at medium-high heat, then once the onions are softened, add a large pinch of salt and sugar, and caramelize at medium-low heat until deeply golden.

After caramelizing the onions and fennel, wipe the pan clean and quickly saute the kale. To help it cook faster and steam, I like to add a bit of water after it wilts to help it tenderize.

Toss the farro, lentils, caramelized veggies and kale together in a large bowl, and serve with garnishes!

Cooking with Farro

Chewy farro is possibly my favorite choice for grain bowls. It’s got the best texture and tons of flavor, and I just love how it makes meals feel extra hearty and satisfying. Farro is a type of ancient wheat, thought to be the oldest cultivated grain. It is very similar to barley (which could certainly be used in this warm kale farro salad recipe ) but I think farro has more flavor and texture.

Farro is usually sold semi-pearled, which meals that some of the bran has been removed to help it cook faster. If you use the whole grain variety, be sure to cook it for 40ish minutes. Thankfully farro is sold in most well stocked grocery stores (I get mine in the bulk aisle of our local health food store), and you can easily order online, but if you can’t find farro, feel free to swap barley or brown rice.

This warm kale farro salad recipe has been updated to give you the best possible content.

Warm Kale Farro Salad with Lentils, Caramelized Onions and Fennel

Serves 4ish

Ingredients:

1 cup farro
1/2 cup black lentils
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
2 sweet onions, peeled, halved and very thinly sliced
1 fennel bulb, halved lengthwise, cored and very thinly sliced
1 head kale, stemmed and roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup pistachios, toasted
Crumbled feta or goat cheese, for serving
Chopped fresh dill, for serving
Lemon wedges, for serving
Harissa or crushed Calabrian chili pepper condiment, for serving

Instructions

Cook farro according to package instructions. Depending on if you’ve bought pearled or regular farro, it may take 10 minutes or 40. Either works fine in this recipe.
Place lentils in a small pot and cover with a couple inches of water and a large pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes until tender. Drain and set aside.
Head 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium sided pot on medium high heat. Add onions and fennel and a large pinch of salt, then stir to coat with oil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until deeply caramelized.
In a medium skillet (you can use the same one you caramelized the onions in if it's free), heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil on medium high heat. Stir in kale and a large pinch of salt, and cook until slightly wilted. Add 1/3 cup water, minced garlic and cook 7-10 minutes, adding more water if needed, until wilted and tender.
In a large bowl, toss together farro, lentils, caramelized onions and fennel, and sauteed kale. Serve garnished with cheese, dill, a squeeze of lemon juice and a dollop of harissa.