Imagine this scenario: It's 7pm after you get out of work and you're deciding what to cook for dinner and your partner or roommate says, "Do you want to order in Sweetgreen or Cava?" You respond with, "No, I'm going to make us Average Arab Girl's "Cilantro Chicken Farro and Sweet Potato Bowls" instead! Great choice - you're going to save your money, use up the vegetables you have going bad in your fridge, and eating a highly nutritious home cooked meal instead. This is a warm and hearty bowl but the cilantro and lemon gives it a fresh, summery feel. You're going to need chicken breast, fresh cilantro, farro, cherry tomatoes, kale, brussel sprouts, and sweet potato. So, let's start cooking!
Yields: 1 (can be easily doubled)
Prep time: 20 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes
This recipe is dairy free. This recipe can be easily made vegan without the chicken. You can opt for tofu, tempeh, or kidney beans instead.
Ingredients:
1. 1 chicken breast
2. Fresh cilantro
3. 1/2 cup of farro
4. 6 cherry tomatoes chopped in thin rounds
5. 2 handfuls of finely chopped kale (or Tuscan kale)
6. 6 brussel sprouts chopped in quarters
7. ½ sweet potato chopped into cubes
8. 2 lemons
9. Extra virgin olive oil
10. Salt
11. Dried cilantro, garlic powder, lemon pepper, black pepper
12. 2 cloves of garlic, minced
13. Pumpkin seeds to garnish
Instructions:
1. First, preheat your oven to 400. Have your chicken breast defrosted, your sweet potato peeled, and all of your ingredients next to you.
2. Now, grab a baking sheet. Chop your sweet potato into cubes, your brussel sprouts in quarters and add to the baking sheet. Drizzle on olive oil and season with salt, lemon pepper, garlic powder, and about 1 TSP of dried cilantro. Mix the seasonings in well.
3. Grab your chicken breast and place it into a Ziplock bag. Use a meat tenderizer and flatten out the chicken. Take it out, and butterfly it and use only ½ of it (IF it's too large of a piece, do not butterfly if it's a normal sized chicken breast).
4. Place the chicken into a bowl and marinate with the juice of ½ lemon, ½ TSP salt, 1 TSP garlic powder, 1 TSP lemon pepper, and 1 TSP dried cilantro. Mix well.
5. Grab a frying pan and drizzle in 2 TBSPs of olive oil and add in 2 minced garlic cloves. Once you can smell the garlic, add in the marinated chicken breast. Sauté on both sides for 4 minutes each on medium-high heat.
6. Turn the heat off and place the chicken onto the baking sheet with the sweet potato and brussel sprouts. Bake until the chicken is white on the inside and the vegetables and perfectly roasted.
7. While you wait for those to bake, grab a serving bowl and place in your chopped kale. Massage with the juice of ½ lemon, 1 TBSP olive oil, and ¼ TSP salt. Massage with your hands until you can't hear the crunch of the kale.
8. Now, let's cook the farro. In a small pot add in ½ cup of farro and 2 cups of water. Cook until chewy. This will need about 10-15 minutes.
9. Have your cherry tomatoes chopped into thin rounds.
10. Let's make the dressing while we wait: in a small bowl drizzle in 4 TBSPs of olive oil, the juice of ½ lemon, 1 TBSP finely diced fresh cilantro, and ¼ TSP of salt. Mix well.
11. Now we can put the whole bowl together: slice the chicken breast into thin strips and add onto the kale. Add your desired amount of farro (I did ¼ cup and saved the rest), the cherry tomatoes, the brussel sprouts, and the sweet potato cubes. Drizzle on the dressing and garnish with pumpkin seeds.
