Ahhh Spring…it’s right around the corner and DC has gotten a preview of it these last few days. People have shed their many layers of coats, sweaters, long johns and snow boots in favor of more Spring like fare. And I have looked down at my thighs and discovered all of my Winter indulgences have given way to, shall we say, squishiness? With thoughts of shorts, skirts and capris dancing in my head, I realized I had to finally take some serious steps to get my weight back under control. I joined a gym near my office, hired a personal trainer and have started trying to incorporate healthier whole grains into my diet. Sure I want to eat healthier, but I don’t want to sacrifice taste! Life isn’t worth living if I’m forced to eat rice cakes (which I actually like, so maybe that’s not a great example). So it was with delight that I received a recipe for Farro Risotto via my Twitter pal Nicole.
The recipe intrigued me because I had just recently fallen in love with farro. While there may be some disagreement about what exactly constitutes farro, everyone can agree that it is the whole grain of certain types of wheat. Because of its hearty texture, Italians use it frequently in soups and as a substitute for arborio rice in risottos. I had already tried using farro in a salad and knew it paired well with vegetables, so Nicole’s recipe sounded perfect. Only problem? I’ve never made risotto before and have actively been avoiding doing so for years. Stories of being chained to a stove for 40 minutes, stirring constantly, have put risotto on my “no-fly” list. But after reading the recipe, I decided to give it a try one night after work (while I was yelling at Glenn Beck on the television…I blame my friend Mazzie for that). Turns out risotto is nothing to fear and using farro made it that much healthier. We’ll ignore the 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese I added to the risotto…it’s for the best really.
Recipe: Farro Risotto with Roasted Butternut Squash
Ingredients
- 1 large butternut squash, peeled and cubed (if allergic to the skin of squash, don’t peel it)
- 3 tbs olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups farro
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, diced
- 3 to 4 cups stock (chicken or vegetable)
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Minced parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Toss the butternut squash cubes with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Spread the cubes in a single layer over a baking sheet lined with foil. Roast the cubes for 20 minutes, turn the cubes over to the other side and roast for another 20 minutes.
- While the squash is roasting, get started on the risotto. Place the stock in a pot on a back burner of your stove. Heat the stock up until it almost stops boiling and then lower the heat to keep the stock warm.
- Heat the remaining olive oil in a wide, deep pot over medium heat and add the onions and garlic. Cook until the onions are softened but not browned.
- Add the farro and stir (using a wooden spoon) to coat it with everything. Continue to cook and stir the farro for about 3 minutes. Pour in the white wine and stir until it’s absorbed into the farro.
- Using a ladle, add one ladle’s worth of the stock to the farro. Allow the stock to be absorbed by the farro, which will take about 8 to 10 minutes. While you don’t have to constantly stir the farro for the entire 10 minutes, don’t stray too far from the stove.
- Stirring occasionally, allow the farro to absorb the stock. At this point, you can salt and pepper the risotto to suit your taste (or you can add the salt and pepper to the stock itself as it warms up). Once most of the stock is absorbed, add another ladle’s worth of warmed stock and repeat the above process.
- Continue this process until the risotto reaches your desired consistency (this can take as little as 20 minutes if you have pearled farro to upwards of 40 minutes if you have unpearled or semi-pearled farro).
- When the farro is almost at your desired consistency, add the balsamic vinegar and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Remove the farro from the heat and stir in the cheese. Using a folding method, add the roasted butternut squash cubes to the risotto. Garnish with parsley before serving.
Diet type: Vegetarian
Number of servings (yield): 4
Meal type: dinner
Print This Recipe
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
It looks really good!!! I would not think of butternut as a Spring vegetable
But otherwise, a great meal!
This looks amazing. I have two butternut squashes to cook up so its either this risotto or a butternut squash pasta. I think it might be this risotto.
I love farro. Still, I”m always schocked at how expensive it is.
I made a really similar dish with barley last fall, so i’m sure it’s great with farro too. i love them both
.
if you like farro in salad form, give this one a try: farro and goat cheese salad.
and i agree – i’m tired of the puffy coat, scared of the cottage cheese lookin’ thighs (although that happened before winter…), and damn ready for spring. peace out, snow.
Yum. I have a barley risotto once. Is that the same thing?
And good on you with the gym and the trainer and all of it! Every year I try not to tweek when I see my arms and legs again after the first few warm days. But no matter what, I am shocked and terrified by my winter squishiness. In fact, when I was upstate enjoy our first bit of nice weather I said , “why do my arms look like marshmallows?!” several times;-)
No reason for shock and terror though. We got this! In fact, I worked out today! And tomorrow..
I’m making pound cake.
Little steps;-)
-Sarah