You guys. You are in for a treat today, because my friend Laura is serving up today’s recipe!

I am SO excited about today’s farro recipe for multiple reasons- first, because it is my FIRST time having a guest blogger on here! Second- because the post is by my first friend I made down here in Charlotte, Laura! And third- because it is delicious. DUH.

When I moved to Charlotte two months ago, I knew probably 5 people in the whole city. One day I was perusing Instagram and saw “Charlotte, North Carolina” tagged as the location on Laura’s posts. I had followed Laura because she was also in Foodtography School with me and has amazing photos and recipes. But I didn’t know she lived in the Queen City. So when I saw that, I casually slid into her DM’s asking if she wanted to get coffee, and the rest is history!

Laura is a killer baker but also has delish savory recipes too. I am so excited about her fall caprese farro salad recipe because it is a fabulous twist on your traditional caprese salad. The dietitian in me wants to tell you about farro in case ya don’t know- farro is an ancient whole grain that is making a comeback because of its fiber and protein components with a unique flavor. Pair it with carrots, tomatoes and mozzarella (aka this recipe) and hot diggity dang you got yourself a delicious and nutritious meal!

But enough from me, let me introduce you to Laura!

Hi friends!

My name is Laura, and I am the creator of the food blog PheNOMenal Phoods. I am super excited to be writing a guest post for Emily’s blog! Emily and I both moved to Charlotte, NC this year, and we connected through food blogging. She is one of the first friends I have made in Charlotte, and it has been so great to have another food blogger to meet up with and chat about all things related to food and photography.

When Emily suggested that I write a guest post for her blog, I was both really excited and a little nervous because, obviously, her blog is incredible.

I really wanted to do it justice and come up with the perfect fall recipe.

Sometimes I start out a blog post with a clear idea of what I want to do, and sometimes things just happen based on whatever I find at the store or in my kitchen. This recipe is definitely one of the ones where I had no clue what it was going to be until the very end.

I went to the grocery store and found myself filling my basket with ingredients based entirely on how pretty they were. Multi-colored cherry tomatoes? Check. Sweet potato? Absolutely. Rainbow carrots? YES!

My favorite kind of fall salad is a warm salad served over a grain of some sort.

I am vegetarian so I love a salad with lots of veggies and some cheese for protein. Thus, the fall caprese farro salad was born. It’s SO GOOD. It is warm, cheesy and delicious. It’s also not too heavy and only takes about 40 minutes to make so it’s a great weeknight meal.

For those of you meat eaters out there:

I doubled the recipe for the dressing and used half of it as a marinade for a chicken breast that my husband then grilled and added to his salad. You could also make it easier on yourself and just add it to your sheet pan on one side and put the veggies on the other – just take it out of the oven before the broiling step.

Photos and recipes all by Laura! Thanks so much for reading! Be sure to check out Laura on IG, Facebook and Pinterest too!

Emily xx

A super delicious fall

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[wpurp-searchable-recipe]Fall Caprese Farro Salad – – Dressing: olive oil, lime juice, Dijon mustard, Italian seasoning, salt, black pepper, Salad: farro (rinsed), water, sweet potato (peeled, cubed), rainbow carrots (peeled and sliced), olive oil, salt, black pepper, Garlic powder, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, cherry tomatoes (halved), fresh mozzarella ball (cut into 2 inch pieces), fresh basil (for serving), balsamic reduction (for drizzling if desired), , Salad: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F; Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or foil. If you are using foil, grease it with some cooking spray.; Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan.

Add the farro and season with a pinch of salt. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 20-25 minutes until water is completely absorbed, and the grains are tender.; While the farro is cooking, roast your sheet pan veggies. Toss the sweet potato and carrots with the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes. Spread the veggies in a single layer on your prepared sheet pan.; Roast veggies at 400 degrees F. for 20 minutes until tender when pierced with a fork.; Remove veggies from the oven and turn on the broiler. Scatter the cherry tomatoes around the pan and place the pieces of fresh mozzarella evenly around the pan.; Broil for 5-10 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.; Your farro should be finished at this point. Toss the cooked farro with your lemon dressing and place a large spoonful onto each plate.; When the sheet pan comes out of the oven, immediately use a spatula to serve a big scoop of the veggies and melted cheese on top of the farro. Top with fresh basil and a drizzle of balsamic reduction.; Dressing: Whisk all ingredients together and set aside.; ; – – Dinner – Lunch – main – Blog Post – Dinner – Lunch – Recipe – Sides – Dinner – farro – Lunch – mozzarella – recipe – salad – vegetarian[/wpurp-searchable-recipe]