Farro In My Pantry (Click To Zoom)
I’ve come up with 10 ways to use farro in your spring pantry:
1. Farrotto
The grain farro behaves much like arborio rice when cooked- rather than releasing starch it absorbs the liquid it’s cooked in. For this reason farro is an appropriate grain to substitute into a risotto. In Simply Tuscan, Pino Luongo shares a recipe for “Farrotto with Morel Mushrooms” which is great for spring (morel season). In The New Classics, Martha Stewart suggests using farro in her spring recipe “Lemon Risotto with Asparagus and Peas”.
2. Fresh Pasta
Ron and Colleen Suhanosky use farro flour to make fresh pasta in their cookbook, Pasta Sfoglia. One of several recipes with fresh farro pasta is “Farro Spaghetti, beets, brown butter, poppy seeds”. In the book they write that pairing beets with poppy seeds is common in the Italian regions of Friuli and Alto Adige.
3. Soup
Italian Slow and Savory is a beautiful cookbook by Joyce Goldstein about the regional flavors of Italy. Her recipe for “Farro and Artichoke Soup” is inspired by a recipe from an Umbrian restaurant. She calls for the reader to sautée artichoke slices and farro in olive oil and then cook in vegetable stock. A simple, light soup with delicate spring flavors.
4. Farro with Seafood
In Italy the hearty, nutty farro is often paired with seafood. Lidia Bastianich’s recipe for “Mussels with Farro, Cannelin, and Chickpeas” from her book, Lidia’s Italy, is a satisfying stew with bold flavors. Jamie Oliver pairs farro with seafood in his book, Happy Days With the Naked Chef. His recipe for “Open Lasagna of Sweet Tomatoes, Squid, Mussels, Farro, and Olives” is inspired my Mediterranean flavors and combines fresh pasta with cooked farro.
5. Stuffing or Dressing
How about making a farro stuffing for roast chicken? First cook the farro in chicken stock and spring herbs, maybe mushrooms too. Let it cool and then stuff the bird and roast. Nice.
6. Salad
Even the famous Irish cook, Darina Allen has a recipe for using farro in her book, Forgotten Skills of Cooking. She suggests combining cooked farro with arugula, peas, fava beans, and asparagus and dressing it in olive oil and lemon juice. I think pine nuts would be a good garnish. What a healthy spring lunch!
7. Warm Salad
Featured at Food & Wine Magazine, Grace Parisi’s “Warm Salad with Braised Radishes” involves cooking radishes in bacon fat and glazing them with honey before serving over farro. The salad is garnished with goat cheese and celery leaves. This would be a nutritious and satisfying meal on a cool, rainy April day.
8. Polenta
Some chefs like to use farro speziato, or cracked farro, for polenta. The cracked farro creates a thicker consistency as the starch is released. You could start by sautéing early spring greens like spinach or mustard greens in olive oil with onions and green garlic. Add the farro along with some homemade vegetable stock and cook until the farro is done. Serve in a big bowl with goat cheese or a tangy sheep’s milk cheese.
9. Farro with Sausage
Farro is often paired with sausage in winter dishes. Why not make a spring dish pairing farro with mild chicken or lamb sausages, lemon, capers, and plenty of fresh herbs?
10. Pilaf
Just like rice, farro is delicious as a side dish to accompany roast meat or fish. Grace Parisi’s “Thyme Scented Farro” would be lovely served alongside steamed spring greens and roast trout.
Do you cook with farro? What’s your favorite recipe?
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