Roasted Turkey and Farro Risotto with Asparagus and Fava Beans

[greeneyedsadie]

I roasted my first turkey! And made my first risotto! I think I did a very good job. The turkey was excellent and moist and the risotto was really tasty. I didn't realize until halfway through cooking that there was lemon in both dishes and it was rather citrusy, but my parents both love acid so they had no issue with it.



The fava beans. They were a TON of work. You had to shell them, then blanch the beans, then remove the skins all before you could use them. They added an interesting texture to the risotto, but not much flavor, so in the future, I'll just use shelled edamame in place of the fava beans and it will be nearly identical.

Here are the fava bean pods:




Here they are shelled:




Here are the blanched asparagus and the peeled and blanched fava beans waiting to go into the risotto.




Here's the soaked and boiled farro waiting to be made into risotto:




Here are the aromatics that went inside the turkey - a whole juiced & zested lemon, an onion, a head of garlic cut in half, and a bunch of thyme:




Here's the turkey ready to go into the oven - it is basted with butter, lemon juice and fresh chopped thyme:




Here's the risotto cooking:




The turkey is done!




Risotto is done!




The finished plate:




It was a lot of work! I started at around 2pm and finished at 6. But I really enjoyed it and it gave me a lot of new experience. I know how to make a risotto now! I'm super excited. And I roasted a turkey! And it was good! Awesome.

Here are the two recipes:

http://www.chow.com/recipes/10895-farro-risotto-with-asparagus-and-fava-beans

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/perfect-roast-turkey-recipe4/index.html

Also, for the vegetarians out there, the risotto was very hearty and could easily be a meal in itself. It can be vegan if you don't add the butter at the end. Excellent vegetarian dish.