This dish is so delicious, we have to stop ourselves from eating the entire bowl. Using farro instead of Arborio rice give this “farotto” a chewier and nuttier flavor that pairs well with the lemon, mint, and peas. Quick enough for a weeknight, but tasty enough for entertaining, this recipe is an absolute winner!
Serves 4 | Vegetarian | Less than 30 minutes
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 1/2 cups dry farro
- 1/2 cup cooking sherry
- 1 tsp sea salt
- Black pepper
- 4 cups of warm or room temperature unsalted vegetable broth
- 1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed
- The juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 tbsp chopped mint
- 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Melt the butter in a large non-stick pan over medium high heat. Add the onion and cook for 1-2 minutes until softened. Add the dry farro and stir constantly for about a minute until toasted and fragrant. Add the cooking sherry, salt and a few cracks of black pepper. Reduce heat to medium and stir occasionally until nearly all the liquid is absorbed.
Ladle in a 1/2 cup of broth at a time, stirring occasionally. You want to add broth only when water is nearly all absorbed, but before the farro starts to stick to the pan. This should take about 20 minutes. When you add the last 1/2 cup of broth, add the peas, lemon juice and mint and stir to combine. When the broth is mostly absorbed, add the Parmesan cheese, stir, and turn of the heat. (Note – farro has a bit of a bite to it, it won’t be a soft as rice, but should be hard). Let the farro sit for a few minutes then serve with a garnish of fresh mint.
Time and Taste 