OMG U GAIZ FARRO IS LEGIT AWESOME
So apparently there is ancient wheat cultivar called "farro" that the Romans used but that now is planted mainly as groundcover between cash-crop seasons. And certain avant garde chefs took this trash-crop and some 2000 year-old recipes and made something hella good out of it. So now farro is this big, fat trendy thing just like asiago cheese awhile back and goji berries a little more recently.
But you know what? I don't give a fuck who else is making this stuff.
I got my hands on some farro because the natural foods cooperative I belong to (it's like a farm share except year-round) is having a TRY NEW THINGS!! event for the month of May. Last week the "TRY ME I'M DELICIOUS" item was fennel, and it was indeed delicious when stewed with chicken and apples. So I was ready to give farro the old college try, too.
Last night I prepared the farro by boiling for 15 minutes (which is pretty damn simple and quick compared to other grain dishes like sticky rice) and then added salt, olive oil, lemon juice, and a little dried oregano. My intention was to make it a pilaf to go with a lentil stew I'd prepared two nights ago, so I just took a bite of the dressed grains to see how it would taste and...............yowza.
I ate about half the container in one go and only had enough willpower to hold off eating the rest until this morning. It's THAT nutty and flavorful and filling. I thought steel-cut oatmeal was awesome but it's still bland and starchy compared to farro (and the cooking time for oatmeal is way more of a hassle).
This probably makes me a hipster, but as long as I'm a hipster because I tried something a little obscure and I genuinely liked it on its own merits, I am more than okay with that.
Just don't expect me to wear skinny jeans anytime soon.
But you know what? I don't give a fuck who else is making this stuff.
I got my hands on some farro because the natural foods cooperative I belong to (it's like a farm share except year-round) is having a TRY NEW THINGS!! event for the month of May. Last week the "TRY ME I'M DELICIOUS" item was fennel, and it was indeed delicious when stewed with chicken and apples. So I was ready to give farro the old college try, too.
Last night I prepared the farro by boiling for 15 minutes (which is pretty damn simple and quick compared to other grain dishes like sticky rice) and then added salt, olive oil, lemon juice, and a little dried oregano. My intention was to make it a pilaf to go with a lentil stew I'd prepared two nights ago, so I just took a bite of the dressed grains to see how it would taste and...............yowza.
I ate about half the container in one go and only had enough willpower to hold off eating the rest until this morning. It's THAT nutty and flavorful and filling. I thought steel-cut oatmeal was awesome but it's still bland and starchy compared to farro (and the cooking time for oatmeal is way more of a hassle).
This probably makes me a hipster, but as long as I'm a hipster because I tried something a little obscure and I genuinely liked it on its own merits, I am more than okay with that.
Just don't expect me to wear skinny jeans anytime soon.