Warm Farro Salad with Mandarin Orange Dressing.

Two things I loved cooking with this week: citrus and chickpeas. I picked up a bag of the sweetest, freshest mandarin oranges at Trader Joe’s – on sale for under $4 a bag! This bag was huge. I’m talking 30+ oranges huge.

These guys are my favorite right now. Small but mighty:

I’ve been snacking on a few every day this week, trying to think of ways to incorporate the slices into a weeknight dinner {besides as a topping for salad – boring!} Enter the food processor:

Oh, and my second favorite thing: roasted chickpeas!

I started this warm salad by making Lemon Zest Roasted Chickpeas, from Nosh On.It. You could also stir in raw canned chickpeas, but taking the time to roast them is worth it. I roasted mine for 35 minutes at 400 degrees, shaking the pan twice. Lemon + orange makes this warm salad twice as nice.

Warm Farro Salad with Mandarin Orange Dressing
Serves 2.

3/4 cup farro {dry}
1 and 1/2 cups water {or chicken broth, or vegetable broth!}
1 can chickpeas
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil + 2 teaspoons
Zest of 1/2 a lemon
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 cup brussel sprouts {halved}
2 handfuls spinach
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons shaved parmesan cheese

Dressing~
2 mandarin oranges
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

How to~

• Toss chickpeas with lemon zest, 1 Tablespoon olive oil, and lemon juice. Roast at 400 degrees for 35 minutes {these could have gone even longer!}
• Bring farro and water to a boil. Turn down to medium-low and cook until farro is done, soft but with a slight bite. Add more water if needed.
• While the farro is cooking, slice and roast brussel sprouts. Toss with black pepper and salt, and 2 teaspoons olive oil. Roast for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.
• Use a food processor to make the dressing – peel oranges and add slices to the food processor. Pulse a few times until pureed. Add olive oil, salt, and pepper and pulse a few more times until dressing reaching desired consistency.
• When the farro is almost done cooking, turn on low, add spinach and stir. Add a lid and let it rest for ~5 minutes. 
• Add everything together with the farro + spinach: chickpeas, brussel sprouts, dressing. Top each bowl with a Tablespoon of parmesan.