Fall and Farro Fagioli

I love everything about fall.  I love when it starts to get a little darker earlier.  I love when the temperatures drop so you can wear a sweatshirt comfortably and the mosquitos are no longer are a problem.  I love the foods that are associated when talking about fall: apples, root vegetables, soups, warm delicious comfort dishes!  I even love racking the leaves once a year, notice how I said "once," after that it's maybe not so much a "love" anymore.

This week it turned fall officially and the temps started to reflect the fall time coming around.  This can only mean one thing at our house, soup time!  Now even though I love all sorts of soups and love the heavy comfort dishes at times, I went with a lighter yet filling soup, Farro Fagioli.  

I'm sure you've heard of Pasta Fagioli soup, which means "pasta and beans."  It's a popular soup at Olive Garden that people love, that is typically made with pasta, beans, veggies, chicken broth and sometimes with meat.  I felt that even though it is now officially fall and I'm getting just as excited for sweater season and getting my "sweater figure" ready, I think you can still have a hearty healthy dish that is filling, and even (gasp) Vegetarian.

Look at that delicious bowl of healthy amazing soup right there!  Sorry, I didn't mean to throw the healthy card out there for all those people that think healthy = "no taste, boring, bland."  I don't want to scare those people away.  Please stay with me!!!

First we start with some Farro.  What?!?!?!  What did you just say? Are you talking crazy talk right now?  No I'm not crazy, this delicious grain has been around for a LONG time and is part of the ancient grains that give you great bang for your buck.  It has more fiber than rice or quinoa, and also it is reasonably high in protein for a grain, along with all the wonderful vitamins and minerals that it contains.  You can find it in your health food section in most grocery stores.  It tastes similar to barley, so if for some reason you can't find it, just use barley.  It will still be delicious. 

First we start off by cooking the farro.  Add the water, salt and farro in a medium saucepan and stir to combine.  Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low and simmer until farro is tender, about 25 minutes.





This is what it looks like when it's done.  Yes, it's kind of foamy and frothy on the top of the pan but don't worry, it tastes delicious.





So why you are waiting for your farro to cook, you can dice up your onions, carrots, celery, and minced garlic and throw that with the olive oil in a medium/ large stock pot.  You are going to sauté that for about 4-5 minutes until it is fragrant and onions are translucent.





You will want to open your can of beans, and rinse them before putting them in your soup.





Once the veggies are nice and fragrant you are ready to add in the rest of the ingredients.  Add in the beans, diced tomatoes, veggie stock, spices, and extra water.





Stir it all around and bring to a boil and let simmer for about 10 minutes until veggies are fork tender.





After that discard the bay leaves,



Add in the cooked farro, and taste.  Add salt and pepper to taste. 





As you can see there's not a ton of extra liquid in the soup, so if you would like more, add more water/ vegetable broth to your liking.  I enjoy more of the stew type soup.





And just like that you have dinner ready.  Pair it will a sandwich, salad, or some fruit and you've got a complete meal. 

Farro Fagioli:

1 c. farro

2 c. water

1 tsp. Kosher salt

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 c. white onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 celery stalk, diced

2 medium carrots, peeled and diced

1 15oz. can cannellini beans

15 oz. can diced tomatoes

2 large bay leaves

1 Tbsp. basil, dried

1 tsp. thyme leaves, dried

1 tsp. oregano leaves, dried

32 oz. can of vegetable broth

2 cups water

Salt and Pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan add the farro, water, and salt and stir to combine.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce to medium low heat, and simmer until farro is tender, about 25 minutes.  Set aside.  In a deep stock pot, sauté the onions, carrots, and celery with the garlic in olive oil over medium heat until fragrant and onions are translucent, about 4-5 minutes.  Add beans, crushed tomatoes, bay leaves, basil, thyme, oregano, vegetable broth and 2 cups of water to stock pot and bring to a slow boil.  Let simmer for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.  Remove bay leaves, and discard.  Add in cooked farro, take off heat and stir.  Add up to 1 cup of water/ vegetable broth if you need more liquid.  Salt and Pepper to taste.  Enjoy!

-Cool

"What the What" Wednesday and Farro

 

The perfect question to start this post is "What the What?" is farro? Farro is an ancient grain (meaning is has been around way before wheat...or you... and it originated in Rome) but is from the wheat family of grains. It has a nutty texture and taste, working well with hearty and rich flavors. In compliments my favorite fruit of the summer:  cherries. The tangy sweet flavor of the cherries accents this nutty grain and mint gives it a fresh summer accent. I decided it was a perfect recipe for an upcoming dinner on the patio, so of course I wanted to test it out!

First you need to rinse your farro well to remove any hull or film on the grain. 

Add to sauce pan with water and salt. 

Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until grain is soft but firm, about 25 minutes. 

While your farro is cooking away, here comes the fun part, pitting cherries. I cheat and have this handy gadget (it works for olives too).

And it is MESSY! (It may be just me...) but don't wear white or your favorite outfit. I always wear an apron because I am probably the most clumsy cook on the planet. Halve your pitted cherries. 

Prepare you other ingredients, toast your almond slices by adding them to a pan heated to medium and gliding them around the pan until they are a slight brown, removing immediately so they don't burn. (I have witnessed this happening to Cool). 

Dice your red onion, open up your feta and make sure the pieces are uniform. To slice the mint, pull the leaves off the stalk, place 5-6 leaves directly on top of each other and roll. Take a knife and slice through to create mint ribbons.

Now you farro should be cool and your are ready to throw everyone in to the pool.  

Mix all the ingredients together and eat!  This salad will make a lot and to keep the fresh taste, consume within 24 hours of preparing. Or you can leave off the mint, and add when ready to serve, up to 48 hours. 

Cherry-Almond Farro Salad

Adapted from:  http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/cherry_almond_farro_salad.html
6 servings | Active Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup farro, rinsed
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/4 cup Hy-Vee White Balsamic & Honey vinaigrette
• 2 cups sweet cherries, pitted and halved
• 1/2 cup Hy-Vee fat-free feta cheese
• 1/4 cup Hy-Vee slivered almonds, toasted
• 3 tablespoons finely diced red onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

Preparation

1. Combine farro, water and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer, cover and cook until the farro is tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Drain any remaining liquid and fluff with a fork. Spread the farro out on a large rimmed baking sheet to cool for 10 minutes.
2. Add vinaigrette, cherries, feta, almonds, onion, mint and the farro. Gently stir to combine.

-Crazy