Early Spring Farrotto
Source: Tony Florian, Seven Hills
Recipe Type: Salads | Seasons: Spring
This recipe was demonstrated for CUESA’s Market to Table program on May 6, 2017.
Makes 4 servings
INGREDIENTS
2 cups farro
2 bunches turnips with their greens, turnips cut into quarters
2 bunches red radishes with their greens, radishes cut into quarters
Extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper (preferably Telicherry), to taste
1 bunch wild spring onions with green tops, separated and roughly chopped
4 leeks, sliced thinly into julienne
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 cup light, crisp white wine
3 quarts vegetable stock
½ pound fava leaves
2 handfuls of English peas in the pod, shucked
1 cup grated aged sheep’s or goat’s milk cheese
Optional garnishes:
1 bunch pea shoots
1 container (clamshell) of mixed spring flowers
PREPARATION
Preheat the oven to 450˚F.
In a dry sauté pan over medium-high heat, lightly toast the farro until lightly brown, then set aside.
On a sheet tray, toss the turnips and radishes (save greens for later use) with about a tablespoon of olive oil, season with sea salt and pepper, and roast until nicely caramelized. Once roasted, set aside to cool.
In a large sauce pot over medium-low heat, sauté the spring onion bulbs (save greens for later use) and the leeks with 2 tablespoons butter, being careful not to brown them. Add the toasted farro and deglaze with the white wine. Raise the heat to medium-high and slowly add one ladleful of vegetable stock at a time until the liquid is fully absorbed into the grain. Before the farro is al dente, roughly chop the fava leaves as well as the reserved onion, radish, and turnip greens, adding them incrementally to the farro in batches until they begin to wilt down. Add the roasted radishes and turnips to the pot, as well as the shucked beans. Stir well until incorporated. Turn off the heat and set the pot aside. Add the rest of the butter and the grated cheese.
To serve: Season with sea salt and pepper and serve, adding pea shoots and edible flowers on top for garnish if desired.
