Farro Risotto With Asparagus And Fava Beans Recipes

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, mix together the farro and 4 cups of water. Soak for 30 minutes and drain well.
• Heat the broth in a small saucepan and keep warm over low heat.
• In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the oil and butter over medium heat. Add the shallots and season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the drained farro and cook, stirring constantly until toasted, about 3 minutes. Add the wine and stir constantly until evaporated, about 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the hot broth and stir constantly until completely absorbed. Continue adding the remaining broth, 1/2 cup at a time, until the farro is creamy and cooked through, about 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the currants, pine nuts, feta cheese, and the remaining salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl and serve.
• Cook's Note: To toast the pine nuts, arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven until lightly toasted, about 6 to 8 minutes. Cool completely before using.

Steps:

• Bring a medium pot of water to a boil.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 25 minutes. Increase the heat to medium high and cook, stirring often, until golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes more.
• While the onions cook, add the farro to the boiling water along with 1 teaspoon salt. Boil until tender but still very toothsome, about 20 minutes. Add the asparagus and cook until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes; drain well.
• Add the farro and asparagus to the caramelized onions along with the parsley, vinegar and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl and serve.

Steps:

• Soak farro in cold water for 20 minutes, drain and rinse well. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil over medium-high heat, add farro, and simmer 20 minutes. Drain then cool by rinsing under cold water; set aside. Boil water, add asparagus and cook until it is just tender, about 3 minutes. Remove asparagus from water and place in a single layer on a large plate or baking sheet to cool. Return water to a boil and add shelled fava beans; cook until tender but not soft, about 1 minute. Drain beans and rinse under cold water until cool enough to touch. Remove the thin, pale green skin that covers each bean and discard. Place skinned beans on the plate or baking sheet with the asparagus. Heat vegetable broth in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until it comes to a simmer, then reduce heat to low so it is at a bare simmer while you prepare the risotto. Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. When it shimmers, add shallots and season with salt and black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until shallots are softened but not browned, about 2 minutes. Add cooked farro and stir to coat grains in oil; cook farro until outer coating of grain is glossy and a toasty aroma rises from the pot, about 3 minutes. Add wine and stir until it has evaporated. Add a ladleful of warm broth and cook, stirring frequently, until farro has almost completely absorbed it, about 2 minutes. Add another ladleful of broth and stir until almost all of it is absorbed. (Do not let the pan get dry-there should be a constant veil of stock over the farro at all times.) Continue adding ladlefuls of broth, stirring frequently and tasting regularly, until farro is tender but firm to the bite. The indentation in the farro grain will open and puff when completely cooked, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the saucepan from heat and gently fold in asparagus, fava beans, lemon zest, tarragon, parsley, and butter.

Steps:

• Prepare the fava beans. Shell them while you bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Drop the beans into the water, and boil small favas for one minute, large favas for two minutes. Transfer at once to a bowl of ice-cold water. Drain. Remove the skins, using your thumbnail to open up the skin at the spot where the bean attached to the pod, then gently squeezing out the bean.
• Pour the stock or broth into a saucepan, and bring it to a boil. Add the asparagus, and blanch for three minutes. Remove the asparagus with a slotted spoon or skimmer, refresh in a bowl of cold water, drain and set aside. Turn down the heat under the stock, and keep at a simmer with a ladle nearby or in the pot. Make sure that it is well seasoned.
• Heat the oil over medium heat in a wide, heavy skillet or saucepan, and add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring, until tender, about three minutes. Add the garlic and the rice. Cook, stirring, until the grains of rice are separate and beginning to crackle, about one to two minutes. Rub the saffron between your thumb and fingers, and stir into the rice.
• Add the wine, and stir over medium heat until it has been absorbed by the rice. Begin adding the simmering stock, two ladlefuls (about 1/2 cup) at a time. The stock should just cover the rice and should be bubbling, not too slowly nor too quickly. Cook, stirring often, until the liquid is almost absorbed. Add another ladleful or two of the stock, and continue to cook in this fashion - adding more stock when the rice is almost dry, then stirring - for 15 minutes. Then stir in the asparagus and the fava beans and another ladleful or two of stock. Continue adding stock and stirring the rice for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the rice is cooked al dente and the vegetables are tender. Add more stock to the rice, and stir in the Parmesan, pepper and chives. Remove from the heat. Taste and adjust salt. The rice should be creamy. Stir once and serve right away in wide soup bowls or on plates, spreading the risotto in a thin layer rather than lumping in a mound.

Steps:

• Combine beans and farro in a bowl and cover with 1 1/2 quarts water. Soak for 4 to 6 hours, or overnight.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large, heavy soup pot or casserole over medium heat and add half the pancetta, if using, and half the onions. Cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes, and stir in half the garlic. Cook, stirring, until garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds.
• Add beans and farro, along with the soaking water. Add another 1 1/2 quarts water and bouquet garni and bring to a gentle boil. Skim foam, reduce heat, cover and simmer 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in a heavy skillet and add pancetta. (If not using pancetta, add the remaining onion and the carrot, celery and leeks now.) Cook, stirring often, until pancetta releases some of its fat. Add the remaining onion, and carrot, celery and leeks. Add a generous pinch of salt and cook, stirring often, until vegetables are tender, 5 to 8 minutes.
• Stir in the remaining garlic and the sage. Cook until garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute, add the tomatoes and juice, and salt to taste. Cook, stirring, until tomatoes have cooked down slightly and the mixture is very fragrant, about 10 minutes. Stir into the beans and farro and mix well.
• Add the tomato paste and salt to taste. (You will need a generous amount.) Continue to simmer 30 to 45 minutes, or until beans and farro are very tender and the soup thick, almost creamy. Add pepper, taste and adjust salt. Remove bouquet garni.
• Stir in the parsley and additional chopped sage if desired. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of Parmesan over each bowl.

Steps:

• Cook farro in large saucepan of boiling salted water until just tender, about 10 minutes. Drain. Transfer to large bowl.
• Meanwhile, cook asparagus and sugar snap peas in another saucepan of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain. Add to farro with tomatoes, onion, and dill. Whisk oil and vinegar in small bowl. Season dressing with salt and pepper. Add dressing and feta to salad; toss to coat and serve.

Steps:

• Blanch and skin the fava beans and place them in a bowl. Use the blanching water to blanch the asparagus, or steam the asparagus if you prefer. If blanching, bring the water in the pot to a boil, salt generously and add the asparagus spears. Blanch 1 to 4 minutes, depending on how thick the asparagus is; fat spears (recommended) will take up to 4 minutes, but thin ones are ready in 1 minute. You can steam the asparagus over 1 inch boiling water for the same amount of time if you prefer. Transfer the lightly cooked asparagus to a bowl of cold water, then drain and dry on paper towels. Cut into 1-inch lengths. Add to the bowl with the fava beans. Add the herbs, and the chickpeas if using.
• Combine the lemon zest and juice, vinegar, garlic or shallots, and salt to taste in a bowl. Whisk in the oil and yogurt. Toss with the favas and asparagus. Add the shaved Parmesan, toss again and serve, or allow to marinate for 30 minutes, then serve.