Farro is a popular ingredient in our kitchens all year round. Its origins date to some 5,000 years ago and it can be used in a wide variety of recipes. This recipe is ideal for the cold winter months.
The origins of this ancient crop date to 5,000 years ago and it was the first to come to Italy. The Italian word for flour, farina, comes from it. For many centuries it was the main source of nutrition of the Roman legions as they used it to make bread, polenta and hard long-lasting biscuits. It even features in religious ceremonies as gifts for the gods.
It now grows only in a few regions in Italy and is usually sold in one of two forms: hulled or pearled.
It is always best to buy it simply hulled, as the procedure to turn it into pearl farro deprives it of much of its valuable fibre.
It has a high protein content and is therefore ideal for use with legumes to create dishes that are very tasty and low in calories.
Ingredients
150 g farro
200g dried red (kidney) beans
1 onion
1 carrot
1 stick of celery
A few sage leaves
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Let the beans soak for at least 12 hours, then boil them in a 1½ litres of cold salted water.
When cooked, extract half of them and mash them to a creamy consistency, then put this puree back in with the whole beans, together with the water they were cooked in.
Chop the onion, carrot and celery and cook them in a frying pan with the olive oil. After a few minutes add the tomato paste (diluted with a few drops of water), and after about ten minutes add the beans and all their liquid.
Add the farro, adjust the salt and pepper to taste and let cook for an hour.
Enjoy!
Chef Daniela
Ristorante “La Cantina”