Recently, I signed up for a food service called Blue Apron. Each week, on a Wednesday, we get three meals for two people. The company sends the fresh ingredients via FedEx along with step-by-step recipe cards. For our meal tonight, we tried the warm farro salad with caramelized fennel and pomegranate.

This is the seventh meal that we have received so far. Overall, each meal has been fantastic. I also like that each feast offers a different vegetable. It gives us a chance to try out new vegetables or produce that we have no idea what to create with it.

As for this recipe, it is vegetarian. However, if you leave out the feta cheese, it is vegan. Okay, less talking and more cooking!

Ingredients

Directions

Steps	Instructions
Step 1: Cook the farro and add arugula	In a large pot, boil salted water on high. Once it reaches a boil, add the farro and cook it for 14 to 16 minutes (stirring occasionally). Once the farro is cooked, drain the water and return it the pot. Add the arugula, and drizzle some olive oil. Stir it to combine, while mixing in some salt and pepper to taste.
Step 2: Prep the ingredients	While the farro is cooking, prepare the produce. Fennel: Pick off the fronds (the green-like thread at the top of the plant) and roughly chop it. Next, separate the fennel bulbs from the stems. For the stems, you are going to thinly slice them. The bulb, you are going cut it in half. Toss the core in the trash, and thinly slice the remainder. Orange You will need to supreme the orange. If you don’t know how to do that, here is a video: Mint: Pick the leaves off the stems and discard the stems. Roughly chop the mint leaves. Olives: With the side of your knife, smash the olives and toss the pits in the garbage. Hazelnuts: Roughly chop the hazelnuts.
Step 3: Get the hazelnuts toasty	With medium-high heat, warm up a medium frying pan. Add the hazelnuts on the pan once it is hot. Keep stirring them because they can easily burn. Cook them for about 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown. Once they are ready, set them aside and reuse the pan.
Step 4: Fennel is caramelized	With the same pan that you just toasted the hazelnuts with, wipe it off. With your clean pan, add in two teaspoons of olive oil on medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, toss in the fennel bulb and stems. Cook for about 7 to 9 minutes or until browned and caramelized. Stir occasionally. Once it is done, remove it from the heat but keep the ingredients in the pan.
Step 5: Let’s get saucy!	With the pan off the heat, add in the orange supreme (and any juice in the bowl), orange zest, Herbes de Provence, olives, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of water. Combine those ingredients with the caramelized fennel. Season it with some salt and pepper to taste.
Step 6: Combine both worlds	Add the sauce to the pan with the farro and arugula. Next, add in the hazelnuts and mint. Combine well and add a little more salt and pepper.
Step 7: Enjoy!	Take the farro salad and evenly divide it onto two plates. Garnish it with the pomegranate seeds, feta cheese, and fennel fronds. Enjoy!