Risotto-Style Farro with Winter Squash and Aged Goat Cheese

Fall is here in Portland. Nowhere is this more evident than at the farmers market. What with the crisp breeze, the golden sunlight at a slightly new angle, and the smells of roasting peppers, not to mention all of the amazing new fall produce, everyone seemed to be in autumnal spirits. It's getting to be the time of year when scarves come out and hot apple cider seems like a great idea.

This morning I had the pleasure of doing a cooking demonstration with Grace Pae of Artemis Foods, an amazing Portland cafe and catering company that specializes in beautiful local, sustainable, and seasonal gourmet food. They've received a couple of awesome awards for their sustainability practices, and they only use the best local, organic, and whole ingredients, all while making really phenomenal food. Grace was a total sweetheart, and we couldn't have had more fun making a delicious dish of farro with butternut squash, fresh cannellini beans, and Fraga Farms Aged Rio Santiam Goat Cheese in a sort of risotto-style mush, if I'm allowed to call something so tasty and pretty a "mush".



Farro is totally making a comeback. Also known as emmer wheat, it's an ancient grain native to the Mediterranean and Near East, and some nutritional anthropologists think it ranks among the oldest domesticated foods. It fell out of favor after the fall of the Roman empire because new crops, like barley and spelt, were a lot easier to grow and had bigger yields. For thousands of years it's been a relic crop in the Mediterranean, but it's experiencing a bit of a revival thanks to the growing interest in heirloom foods, grains included. One of the healthiest grains around, it's related to wheat and spelt but has its own unique character. It has an amazing nuttiness and holds its shape really well in recipes that can tend to get mushy. A perfect example is this almost-risotto, that features my absolute favorite fall treat, butternut squash. Not to mention really awesome aged goat cheese and a good amount of butter!

We used organic farrow from Bluebird Grains with the hull on, which preserved its nutty flavor and chewy texture. You can find their stuff at Portland-area stores or online. I also got a great tip about peeling butternut squash. You know how it can get kind of sticky or slimy and start rolling around the cutting board? Grace says if you chill your squash it is a good deal easier to peel. I'll have to try that next time! Another great thing about this recipe is that it uses fresh beans, which are popping up all over at the markets these days. You can eat them raw, in salads, but in a hot preparation like this they get deliciously creamy and tender. The dish uses chicken stock, but you could totally replace that with veggie stock to make it veg-friendly.



I love doing chef demonstrations, and if I could make a living talking about delicious sustainable, seasonal food in front of an audience, I would be a very, very happy girl. Keep your ears open for an opening on the Food Network for me, ok?

Here are some shots from the market today. Gorgeous!

Farro with Butternut Squash, Fresh Cannellini Beans, and Aged Goat Cheese

Ingredients
8 oz. Farro, cooked in boiling salted water until tender, drained
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1-2 Tablespoon unsalted butter
1 cup yellow onion, minced (you can use a food processor)
2 teaspoons fresh garlic, minced
2-3 teaspoons fresh thyme and.or sage, savory, or any combination
1/4 teaspoon red chile flakes
1-2 cups fresh, shelled cannellini or lima beans
1/2 cup dry white wine
1-2 cup chicken stock (or veggie stock)
4 cups cubed butternut squash, roasted (simply toss the cubed squash in olive oil, salt and pepper and place on a baking sheet in 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and tender, stirring a few times)
2-3 ounces Aged Goat Cheese

Directions
1. Prepare you ingredients first by cooking the farro in enough water that the grain can roll in the pot as it is cooking. For example, 8 ounces of farro will expand by 3 times in volume, so you will need a pot about 3 times bigger than that, or at least a 2.5 quart pot.
2. Have the squash cooked as well as the other listed ingredients.
3. In a large sauté pan over medium heat, melt the butter and olive oil together and add onions, garlic, herbs, and spices.
4. Sauté ingredients for 3-4 minutes or until onions are translucent and garlic and herbs have become aromatic. Do not let garlic brown.
5. Add the farro and the beans, the wine, and about a cup of stock and let the ingredients simmer together, stirring frequently for 3-4 minutes.
6. Add the butternut squash and heat through ust until hot. Add more stock as needed to maintain a moist consistency. Add the cheese and mix well.
7. Adjust for salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat. Garnish with shavings of cheese.

Eat well!

Welcoming Fall With a Hodgepodge Dip

Since my last post, Portland decided that she wanted to pull out her sweaters, scarves, and fuzzy hats - It's fall! Who knows, another dry spell might be waiting around the corner, but in my house and on the streets, it seems everyone is thinking one thing: Brrrrr. It may be chilly, and the rain might be here to stay (oy), but I'm happy as can be. I've got visions of hot apple cider, kids coming 'round on Halloween, and warm root vegetables and squash. Summer was amazing, and, let's be honest, it's still only September - my tomatoes, peppers, and yellow squash are finally making a good show in the garden - but I'm ready to embrace the colder months, buy some long nubby knit socks, and fill up on heartier fare.



But before I can do that, I need to finish up the bits and pieces in the freezer, fridge, and cupboards. Such a familiar refrain, huh? When I lived alone last year, I'd always find myself throwing out things that had gone bad - especially true of fruits and veggies. I've found that the best way to avoid this is to do a round-up every few weeks of the odds and ends in the kitchen. It may not be the prettiest, tastiest dish (though sometimes it is!) it feels good to know that everything is being put to use. 


As I searched through the various shelves, I found a can of white beans, and was inspired. I had on hand a good amount of garlic, some basil from the garden, and some roasty vegetables from a Limbo dollar bag, so why not blend it all up into a dip/spread/delicious-mush-to-eat-straight-out-of-the-bowl?

I pureed a whole can of drain white kidney beans, threw in some water and red wine vinegar to get the mix going, and added some whole basil leaves and some of the roasted vegetables - eggplant, acorn squash, and roasted garlic (I had baked them for a little less than an hour in a 375 degree oven - I didn't have a timer, I just let my nose be my guide).

Oh, my. This was so good! I served it with an adorable purple bell pepper from my garden. The only problem I had was that my food processor, while being a great Cuisinart, is realllly tiny. Hey, mom? Dad? Want to help me out there? 

So here it is, the clean-sweep dish of the week, Hodgepodge White Bean, Basil, and Roasted Fall Vegetable Dip. Feel free to use whatever you've got lying around - this isn't a recipe, it's a method!

Welcome to fall! Eat well, and come back soon.