Farro with Squash and Kale

*Post by Angela.

My mom recently got me a subscription to Bon Appetit, which has been a wonderful addition to the apartment. However, the stack of recipes I've torn out to make keeps getting higher and higher, to the point where it's beginning to be a fire hazard. The other night, I found myself with some time on my hands and many of the ingredients for this hearty seasonal dish (created by James Beard Award-winning chef Sean Brock of Charleston, S.C.'s Husk) from the September issue of the magazine. And when I say "some time," I mean a ton of it - this is a pretty fussy, time-consuming dish. But it's really, really good and bound to impress any visiting vegetarians.

List of ingredients:

• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
• 1 small acorn squash
• Kosher salt and pepper
• 1 bunch red kale, center stems removed, leaves torn
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup farro
• 1/4 cup onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 2 cups water
• 1/3 cup grated Romano or Parmesan

First, I preheated the oven to 375, then cut up and peeled the squash. Hey, did you guys know that peeling an acorn squash is a pain in the ass? It is. I handled it by cutting the squash into cubes and then cutting the peel off each cube (my vegetable peeler just wasn't tough enough to get through the thick squash skin). Very time-consuming. Next time I think I may just halve the squash then scoop out the innards.

Anyway, I melted a 1 tbsp of butter in a pot, then added the squash cubes, seasoned them with salt and pepper, tossed to coat, then spread them on a baking sheet. I put the sheet in the oven to roast for 35 minutes (or until tender), turning the squash every 10 minutes.

In the meantime, I brought a pot of heavily salted water to boil, then added the kale, cooking for about 2 minutes. I plunged the kale into ice water, then drained it, squeezed it dry and set it aside.

I heated the tbsp of oil in a large pot over medium low heat, added the farro, and tossed/stirred constantly for about 4-5 minutes until the farro was toasted.

While the farro was toasting, I simmered the vegetable stock with the water in a separate pot over low heat. Once the farro was sufficiently toasted, I removed it to a bowl, then heated 2 tbsp of butter over medium heat in the same pot. I added the onion, cooked for about 4 minutes (until translucent), then added the garlic and cooked for another 2 minutes.

I added the wine and cooked until the wine was almost evaporated, about 2 minutes. I added the farro and about 1/2 cup of the warm stock mixture, then stirred about 4 minutes, until the stock was almost all the way absorbed.  I kept adding the stock, about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until the stock was absorbed before adding any more - basically, I made farro risotto. I kept adding the liquid until the farro was tender - it took about an hour, which is twice as long as for risotto, but farro is a tougher grain than arborio rice.

Once the farro was tender, I gently stirred in the kale, squash, remaining tbsp of butter and the cheese, stirred, and cooked about 2 minutes, until all the way heated through, about 2 minutes.

For presentation's sake, I served this up in a halved squash I had roasted alongside the cubed squash and then hollowed out. Though this was sort of a pain to make, it was very tasty - the nutty farro works really well with the creamy sweetness of the squash and the slight bitterness of the kale. And so, the Bon Appetit stack gets a fraction shorter. But I think the holiday issue is already sitting in my mailbox... 

Comments

[Halley | Postcard Printing]

I love squash lately especially its sweetness and creamy texture. I'm not very familiar with kale though.

[Maggie]

This looks awesome! Will definitely try this!

[Angela]

Halley,

Kale is an awesome super food - a really hearty green.

Maggie,

It is a really good dish, and really filling, just make sure you allot a bunch of time to make it.

[dedc79]

looks great, thanks for sharing