Add a fried egg to any meal and it immediately becomes gourmet and sexy. This farro salad has lots of bite and flavor from sweet potatoes and mushrooms. Topped with a runny egg, you have creamy goodness coating all your healthy goodness. If you've never cooked farro before, we're excited to introduce you to this chewy whole grain. Buy the semi-pearled variety and it'll cook in <30 minutes
Farro Salad with Sweet Potatoes, Mushrooms, and Spinach:
Semi-pearled / husked farro - 1 cup
((make sure you get the <a href="http://amzn.to/13Fyzgn" target="blank">semi-pearled / pearled variety</a> or it will take 1 hour to cook. If you can't find farro, sub quinoa))
Farro - If making tomorrow night's dinner, double the portions. Farro cooks like pasta. Bring 2 quarts (1.9 liters) of water to boil, salt, and then add dried farro. It'll take about 25 minutes to cook. Drain
Whisk shallots, mustard, vinegar, sweetener and olive oil together to make a vinaigrette. Season to taste with salt and pepper
Heat a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add cooking oil and then sweet potatoes to heated oil with a sprinkle of salt. Add 2 tbs. (30 ml) of water to the pan, cover with a lid, and lower heat to a simmer. Cook for 5 to 8 minutes, until sweet potatoes are almost cooked through (softened but still a bit crunchy)
Add in mushrooms with some more salt and saute until cooked, ~ 3 to 5 minutes
Toss all ingredients except butter and eggs together with vinaigrette. Warm ingredients will wilt spinach and melt cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper and divide up into servings
Heat a skillet or griddle over medium-heat. Add butter and then fry eggs in melted butter (cook in batches if not enough room). Sprinkle with salt and cook until egg whites are set. Cover skillet with a lid or create a cover with foil (for a griddle) to help egg whites set faster. Top each salad with your fried egg. Break into it and watch the goodness ooze!