Kindred Spirits and/or Chicken & Farro Salad with Spinach & Butternut Squash

There are people in our lives who are "kindred spirits", according to Anne Shirley (of Green Gables).  These friends are just good for my heart, and I love how, no matter how much time passes between visits, we always just pick up where we left off.  This weekend, I have the pleasure of spending time with a kindred spirit, Norma, who has been one of my dearest friends for twenty years!  She is staying at my apartment while she's in Dallas for a conference, and I am thrilled to have her here.  So far, we've stayed up way too late talking, tried to catch up on the last seven months, and (of course) eaten lots of food.  My wonderful friend also happens to be a lover of yummy, healthy recipes, so we like to cook and talk about recipes when we're together.  It's HOT in Texas in June, so I decided we should have something cool and light for dinner.  I recently tried farro for the first time, and I've been itching to make something with it at home, so I started researching farro salads for recipe ideas.  I found a lot, but none of them were really what I wanted, so I finally came up with my own tonight.  The result was perfect for a hot summer evening with a great friend.  We both LOVED it, and I certainly want to make it again, so here's my recipe.

Chicken and Farro Salad with Spinach and Butternut Squash

1 small butternut squash
1 chicken breast
1 1/2 c. farro
1/2 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. raw spinach
1 T. red wine vinegar
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1 T. olive oil + 2 T. olive oil, separated
sea salt (to taste)
rosemary (to taste)
Olde Thompson's orange and lemon pepper (to taste)*

Preheat oven to 400.  Rinse and remove seeds/pulp from butternut squash.  Chop into (approximately) stamp-sized pieces.  Coat with 1 T. olive oil (more or less) and sprinkle with sea salt and rosemary.  Roast in oven for 20-25 minutes, turning once during cooking.  While squash is roasting, prepare the farro and chicken.

Mix farro, water, and chicken broth in a large saucepan and cook following package directions.  (Probably about 15 minutes; farro should be al dente.)  When farro is done, drain but don't rinse.  Let it cool.  If you're hungry and impatient, you can put it in the freezer for a few minutes, like I did.

Sprinkle a liberal amount of the Olde Thompson's orange and lemon pepper on the raw chicken breast and grill (I used my trusty George Foreman).  When it's done, chop it into bite-sized pieces and allow it to cool.

While everything is cooling, use a small bowl to mix the red wine vinegar, lemon juice, 2 T. olive oil, salt, and a little Olde Thompson's.  Use a large bowl to mix the farro, chicken, and roasted butternut squash.  Add the spinach and then toss with the vinegar and oil mixture.  Yum!

We ate our salads at a little below room temperature, but I think it would also be wonderful as a cold salad.  I'm planning to test that theory by eating the leftovers straight out of the fridge tomorrow.  I also think that you could substitute the butternut squash for sweet potato, zucchini, or asparagus with delicious results.  It could be fun to make this with whatever veggies you have on hand.


*The Olde Thompson's orange and lemon pepper seasoning is a key ingredient.  Regular lemon pepper will not taste the same.