Seen recently at my local Costco: Farro.
What the heck is farro? Organic pearled farro imported from Italy, to be precise? The directions and recipes printed on the bag were simple and appealing-ish, so I figured the worst case scenario is that I was buying a bag of food for the local squirrels. After doing a bit of research and making my first batch of cooked farro, I can tell you with complete certainty the squirrels are going to have to settle for acorns, baby!
The Low Down: Farro works like brown rice and can be used in a similar manner. The directions on the bag indicated a 3 to 1 ratio of water to dried farro. Translation: 3 c. water and 1 c. farro. Bring the water to a boil and reduce heat to very low. Simmer for 30 minutes or till the farro is al dente.
This is where it got really tasty! Searching around for breakfast alternatives, I came across the whole grain meme. The following is this morning’s breakfast and, I tell you WHAT; it was DELISH!
Farro Breakfast Bowl: Put into a bowl the amount of cooked farro you think you are hungry enough to eat. Add dried cherries (or raisins or any other dried fruit chopped into smaller pieces- apricots, apples,plums) and a couple tablespoons of water and microwave 2 minutes. Pull out and stir. Add a sprinkle of cardamom (or cinnamon or nutmeg) and a couple tablespoons of maple syrup. Stir and eat.
I bet you can’t eat just one. 🙂 While eating your second bowl, to quiet that little voice inside your head telling you what a little piggie you are, congratulate yourself on eating an amazingly healthy breakfast!
The leftover plain cooked farro? It’s going into the stuffed poblano peppers we are having for dinner tonight.