For the farro and dressing:

1. Heat olive oil in a 3 quart sauce pap over medium heat. Add shallots and saute until soft. Add farro and toast for 1 – 2 minutes. Add broth or water and bring to a boil on high heat. Note if you are using water, add salt to the water. Reduce to medium low and cook until tender, about 20 – 30 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. While farro cooks whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss the drained farro with the dressing. This step can be done ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator. Just remove the farro from the fridge and bring to room temperature before serving.

For the eggplant: 

1. Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Spread the eggplant disks over baking sheets. Brush with olive oil on both sides and season with salt and pepper. Note the olive oil absorbs very quickly into the eggplant, so work quickly to avoid absorbing too much oil, but don’t be too parsimonious with the oil. You will need multiple baking sheets to roast all the eggplant. Roast for 15 – 20 minutes until golden and beginning to caramelize. Flip and roast for another 10 – 15 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

For the tahini dressing:

1. Put tahini in a stainless steel bowl. Gradually whisk in ice water, adding more or less water until you get your desired consistency. When you first add the water the tahini will seize up and get very stiff. Slowly add more water until the tahini relaxes and becomes very smooth.
2. Zest the lemon with a fine microplane, add zest, lemon juice, yogurt, garlic, spices and salt and pepper. Whisk to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Assembling and garnishing the salad:

1. Spread the spinach out on a large oval platter
2. Layer the dressed farro over the spinach
3. Stack multiple layers of the eggplant over the farro
4. Drizzle or pipe the tahini sauce over the eggplant
5. Splash a little olive oil and lemon juice over the salad
6. Garnish with pomegranate seeds, chopped fresh herbs and pistachio seeds
7. Dust the top of the dish with sumac