farro risotto with roasted mushrooms

Remember that scene in When Harry Met Sally, when Harry and Sally are watching Casablanca? They’re talking on the phone as they watch from their own separate apartments on T.V.’s that now seem comically small. “There are two kinds of women,” Harry muses, watching Ingrid Bergman on the screen: “high-maintenance and low-maintenance.” 

“Which one am I?” Sally asks.

“You’re the worst kind. You’re high-maintenance, but you think you’re low-maintenance.”

That’s what risotto is. It seems low-maintenance with its short ingredient list. All simple stuff, you might have on hand: chicken stock, a little white wine, and a few tablespoons of butter. But, it’s actually totally presumptuous, assuming you have nothing better to do than to sip wine and stir it. It demands that you stand over it to witness its transformation into a creamier, more decadent version of itself. It’s rice that requires an audience.  This version with farro, does require some stirring, but the result is nutty and savory and well worth the wait.

Tools needed: wooden spoon, heavy bottomed medium sauté pan. I use a dutch oven for this. You want to be able to stir the liquid into the farro without anything sloshing over, so it’s better to choose a vessel that’s a little bigger than you need than something too small.

Farro Risotto with Roasted Mushrooms

Ingredients:

1 cup farro

½ cup white wine

1 small white onion, thinly sliced or small dice

5 cups chicken stock

4 cups water

1-2 Parmesan rinds

4 tablespoons butter

8 oz Mushrooms of your choice (i used baby portobellos, cleaned and quartered them)

extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese, finely grated to finish

Step 1:

In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken stock to a simmer. Keep warm.

Step 2:

Heat about 6 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy bottomed sauté pan, or dutch oven over medium heat. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add the mushrooms. Season with salt. You don’t need to worry about them releasing their liquid, because it will evaporate, and allow them to brown. Essentially, you are doing a reverse sear on the mushrooms. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the liquid evaporates and they begin to brown. This could take about 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of your pan.

Step 3:

Lower the heat to medium-low, and add 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the onion and season with salt and pepper. Cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the farro and allow to cook with the onions for 1 minute. Add the wine and cook until absorbed, making a concerted effort to scrape the bottom of the pan as you do so, to dislodge any brown bits that have formed. Add stock, a couple cups at a time and the Parmesan rind.  Stir after each addition, and then wait for the stock to absorb, before adding more liquid. Stir every few minutes. Repeat until you have used all of the stock and the farro is cooked through. Grab a beverage. This will take about 30 minutes.

**To speed this along, you could par boil the farro ahead of time in salted water. This would reduce the time that you have to stir. You will lose a little bit of the starch but it will still be creamy and delicious.

Step 4:

Stir in the butter, allowing it to emulsify into the risotto. The farro should be creamy and slightly glossy at this point. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Top with parmesan cheese.