• Rinse the spelt in cold water a few times to wash it.

  Fill a large pan with chicken stock, vegetable stock or add a bouillon cube to about 4 cups of water. Season with a little salt but not too much as some chicken stock can be salty.

  Bring to a boil and cook for about 45 minutes or until grains are tender but still have a pleasant bite.
  

Make the Mustard Dressing

• Meanwhile, make the mustard vinaigrette. The best way to make the dressing is to blend everything except the oils in a blender and very slowly add in the oil until an emulsified dressing is formed.

  But you can also add everything to a mason jar and shake really well before serving. It won't be emulsified, but it's a lot simpler.
  

Make the Crispy Sage Leaves

• In a large cast iron pan, over low-medium heat, heat the vegetable oil.

  Before you start, have a plate lined with a paper towel and a metal fish spatula (or spider strainer) ready by hand.

  Once it's hot (but not too hot), add the sage leaves to the hot oil and move around in the pan until crispy. *The sage leaves will make a loud frying sound at first and may spit hot oil so be careful*.

  Once the bubbles stop, the sage leaves are ready. Drain them over the paper towel and season them right away with salt.

  Discard the excess oil (or save it for something else) and keep the pan ready for the apples.
  

Finishing Up

• Once the spelt is ready, strain it from the water and let it cool on a tray or leave it in the pan.
  
• Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C.

  Core the apples and cut them into large slices. Fry them in some butter over medium heat.
  
• Once the apples turn golden brown, flip them over and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes.
  
• Add the sunflower seeds to the pan and then put the pan in the oven for about 5 minutes.
  
• Remove the pan from the oven once the sunflower seeds are light golden brown.
  

Plating

• Scoop the cooked spelt into a bowl and add a few tbsp of the mustard dressing. Mix well and check the seasoning. Add salt or pepper as needed.

  Mix in the hot apples and sunflower seeds, but save a few for the top.
  
• Finish the spelt salad with the rest of the apples and seeds. Garnish with a little more mustard dressing and top with the crispy sage.

  Enjoy!