Farro

It wasn’t long ago that we had no idea of what farro was, but now that we've tried it, we can never turn back. Farro is working its way into our meals more and more frequently, and is often replacing both rice and potatoes as our starch of choice. Farro is a delicious, and healthy (don't let that stop you) whole grain that has a unique nutty flavor and firm texture. One of the best things about farro is that, much like rice, it can be stored in your cupboard for a long time as long as it is in a cool dry airtight container. This helps ensure that you will always have it on hand.

Usually when cooking it for two people we will use ½ cup of dry farro if it will be a side dish. If we are using it for a main dish or as part of a casserole 1 cup of dry farro would be best for two people. So far we have only used semi-pearled farro, which has a nice brown color to it.

Farro can be cooked in a variety of ways, but I think the simplest way is probably the best. There are recipes that recommend to cook it for up to eight hours, sometimes even leaving it to soak for an additional several hours. Some people even suggest that it should soak for several hours before cooking it. In our experience farro can be simply cooked by boiling it like pasta for about 10 minutes in well salted water and then strained.

If you want to add some additional flavor you can add it to the water with the farro. One suggestion is to throw one or two cloves of crushed garlic into the pot. The garlic is easy to fish out afterwards, or it can be left in and mashed (it will be very soft) into the farro for even more garlic flavor.

It is one of the oldest grains and some experts suggest that it is the grain that almost all others are derived from. The problem with farro is that it is a relatively low-yielding grain, and so is not ideal for today’s massive commercial farming system. In Italy there are only a few areas dedicated to cultivating farro scattered over the regions of Lazio, Umbria, the Marches and Tuscany.

Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for spelt to be mislabeled in stores as farro, so it is important to look for its latin name triticum dicoccon on the label. It can also help to look for farro that has been imported from Italy.

Cold Farro Salad with Red Onion

1 Cup farro
1 Half red onion
2 Cloves garlic (crushed)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Bring a medium sauce pot to boil with salted water. Add the farro and garlic cloves to the boiling water. Cook for 10 minutes. Strain the farro, toss with olive oil and allow to cool. While the farro is cooking, slice the red onion into thin half circles. After the farro has cooled to room temperature, mix in the red onion. Season with salt and pepper to taste, finish with extra virgin olive oil.

This recipe is great as a side dish with just about any dish. As mentioned above, we often use this dish as a replacement or rice or potatoes with almost anything.



Baked Farro and Chicken Casserole

1 Cup farro
2 Cups cooked chicken (about one pound)
1 Half red onion
1/2 Cup chicken broth
1 Cup bread crumbs
2 Cloves garlic (crushed)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Bring a medium sauce pot to boil with salted water. Add the farro and garlic cloves to the boiling water. Cook for 10 minutes. Strain the farro, toss with olive oil.

While the farro is cooking, slice the red onion into thin half circles. Dice the chicken into small bite sized pieces. Mix in the red onion, chicken, and broth with the cooked farro. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Put the mixture into a medium casserole pan. Top the mixture with the bread crumbs. Drizzle the top with olive oil.

Cook uncovered for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees. This does not need to cook for very long, just long enough to brown the top.

This is a great recipe to use any leftover chicken that you have. The actual amount of chicken is not terribly important, the last time we cooked this we used about 1/2 of a roasted chicken and it worked out great.



Roasted Farro with Pine Nuts

1/2 Cup farro
1 Medium red onion
2 Cloves garlic (crushed)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 Cup pine nuts (pignoli)
Salt
Pepper

Bring a medium sauce pot to boil with salted water. Add the farro and garlic cloves to the boiling water. Cook for 10 minutes. Strain the farro, toss with olive oil.

While the farro is cooking, slice the red onion into thin half circles. Mix in half of the the red onion with the cooked farro. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Put the mixture into a medium casserole pan. Top the mixture with the red onion and pine nuts. Drizzle to top with olive oil.

Cook the casserole until the onion has softened, about 5-10 minutes, at 350 degrees. Finish the casserole under the broiler for about a minute or until the onion and pine nuts begin to brown.

We came up with this recipe to use up some leftover farro that we had from the night before. As much as we love farro, you still need to mix things up a little bit.