LUNCH! Week 3: Farro + Chicken + Squash

June 19, 2020

Let’s do LUNCH!. With chapters built around three main ingredients, the LUNCH! cookbook demonstrates how to make 10 weeks of exciting lunches (50 recipes in all) with fresh ingredients and healthy variety.

Monday Farro Bowl with Chicken Skewers
Tuesday Kale and Brussels Sprouts Slaw Salad
Wednesday Farro and Vegetable Bowl
Thursday Sausage and Butternut Squash Pasta
Friday Farro Porridge with Yogurt and Caramelized Apples

This week brings the flavors of squash, sage, and apples to your lunch bowl. A big batch of roasted squash carries you through the week as it’s paired with Yogurt-Marinated Chicken Skewers and later pureed into a silky pasta sauce. Dusting your bowls with the Seed Sprinkle will not only add a salty crunch to any dish, but also provide nutrition (think all the good oils and antioxidants from pepitas, flax seeds, and chia seeds). Farro creates a hearty base for many of the bowls before it’s transformed into a lightly sweetened porridge on Friday. A few shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano can take your lunch to that next salty, satisfying level. Spend a little more money on Parmigiano imported from Italy, which is rich and complex, rather than domestic Parmesan, which lacks some of the flavor and texture. It’s a worthwhile investment.


Grocery List

Pantry

1½ cups farro
¾ cup rolled oats
2 cups penne or mezzi rigatoni
Extra virgin olive oil
Grapeseed oil
4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon soy sauce
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 teaspoons chia seeds
3 tablespoons ground flax seeds
½ cup pepitas
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup chicken stock (ideally homemade) or water
1 tablespoon brown sugar or coconut palm sugar

Produce

7 garlic cloves
1 lemon
1 bunch cilantro
1 bunch mint
1 small bunch sage
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger
1 (1½-pound) butternut squash (or the equivalent in precut squash)
1 Fuji or Gala apple
1 bunch lacinato kale (about 10 stems)
½ pound Brussels sprouts or 4 cups shredded Brussels sprouts
1 (5-ounce) container baby arugula, or 2 bunches

Dairy

1 egg
2 tablespoons butter
1¼ cups full-fat Greek yogurt
1 small block Parmigiano-Reggiano
1½ cups unsweetened almond milk

Meat

¼ pound (1 link) sweet Italian sausage
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Special Equipment

5 (6-inch) metal or wooden skewers

 

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