This “risotto” will be more toothsome than one made with rice, and will have a deeper flavor that contrasts nicely with the bright flavors of the squash and tomatoes. The more colors of squash the better.
INGREDIENTS:
3-4 medium summer squash, various colors, (2-2½ cups) cut into 1/4-inch dice 1 medium white or yellow onion, cut into ¼-inch dice 1 clove garlic, minced 1¼ cup semi-perlato farro, rinsed ½ cup white wine 6 cups vegetable or chicken stock 1-2 medium tomatoes (1-1½ cups) seeded and cut into ¼-inch dice ½ teaspoon fresh marjoram, thyme, or a combination, chopped 1 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped Salt and pepper to taste Olive oil as needed ½ Meyer lemon, for juice-optionalMETHOD:
Bring the stock to a simmer over medium-high heat.
Heat the pan you will cook the risotto in (use a straight-sided 2½-3 quart sauteuse) over medium-high. Film well with oil and heat the oil. Add the squash and cook just until it picks up a little golden color. Transfer to a bowl, then cook one-quarter of the onion just until it is no longer raw. Transfer it to the same vessel with the squash. Reduce heat to medium.
Add the rest of the onions to the pan, adding oil if the pan is dry, and sauté onions until very soft. Add the garlic and marjoram/thyme, season with salt and pepper and sauté until fragrant.
Add farro and toss to coat with the oil. Cook until a toasty aroma comes up.
Add all the white wine and stir. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the wine has pretty much reduced to nothing.
Add 2 cups of hot stock and stir in. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until stock is reduced almost entirely. Add 1 cup of stock and cook gently, stirring occasionally, until reduced almost all the way. Repeat with 1 cup of stock each time. After the third addition of stock has cooked down, taste the farro. By now, 20-25 minutes should have elapsed, and the farro should be getting tender with a nuttiness to it. Add one or two more additions of stock as needed to get the farro to “done”-it will still be a little chewy, but will be tender and cooked through. For the last addition of stock, stir the farro while the liquid cooks down. This will develop some of the starchy quality of a risotto.
When done, season with a fair amount of salt and pepper, and stir in the parsley. Scatter with the squash, onions, and tomatoes. Drizzle with a little olive oil and carefully fold these ingredients into the farro. Taste the dish and decide if you want to add some lemon juice. If so, squeeze the lemon over the farro, being sure to catch the seeds.
Serve hot.
Chef’s Notes: If you wish, you could add a little butter at the end for a richer and nuttier flavor. You could also grate in some parmesan or Romano cheese, as well. If you have basil/and or mint, it would work well in this dish, shredded or cut chiffonade and added at the end with the parsley. This dish also is a fine vehicle for really good Extra Virgin Olive oil. Just drizzle a bit on at the end or pass it as a condiment with the farro.
Serves: 4
Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen
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