A while back I posted a recipe for Kamut Pilaf. Well, I’m still on my quest to craft recipes with whole grains. I really talked up whole, intact grains in that blog post, so I won’t rehash it here. Last night, I came up with some yummy, cheesy goodness made with Farro. What is that, you ask? Well, Farro is an ancient Italian grain related to wheat. It has a firm and chewy texture. It’s a great source of both protein and fiber. In fact, one cup has 11 grams of protein and 8 gram of fiber. It takes less time than Kamut to cook and does not have to be soaked prior to cooking.
So, what did I do with it? Well, I got inspired by ingredients in my fridge and a few finds at the grocery store. Something wonderful happened with I combined lots of veggies with Italian sausage, marscapone cheese and Farro. Here’s what I did. It was a winner. We ate this with a healthy side of sautéed broccolini.
- ¾ cup Farro
- Chicken Broth and Water
- 5 links of mild Italian Sausage, removed from their casings
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- ½ medium sweet onion, chopped
- 8 ounce container of baby bella mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
- ½ cup marscapone cheese
- Hot Pepper flakes
- Parmesan cheese
- Salt and Pepper
- Fresh Basil, chopped
Bring some chicken broth and water to a boil. You want enough to let the Farro really move around while cooking – this is *not* like cooking rice, it’s like cooking pasta. Add the Farro. Boil for about 20 – 30 minutes, until tender. Drain excess liquid from the pan. Set aside until later.
Heat a large non-stick skillet (I use Scanpan) over medium high heat. Add the sausage and break up into bite-sized pieces while it cooks. Let it get a good brown on it before you move it around. When it’s almost cooked, drain off any extra fat (there will be enough left in the pan). Add the peppers, onion and mushrooms to the sausage in the pan. Continue to cook until mushrooms get browned and the peppers/onions soften.
Add the cooked Farro to the pan to reheat. Add the marscapone cheese and stir to help it melt into the grain, sausage and veggies. Add pepper flakes, chopped basil, salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a little Parmesan cheese grated on top. ENJOY!
Makes about 4 – 6 servings depending on how hungry you are. It’s OK if there’s leftovers as they are just as delicious.