Farro Risotto

J has been talking for weeks about wanting to make a risotto using farro instead of the usual arborio rice.  The dish has been tasted by him, me, my mother and one of my co-workers and everyone gave it rave reviews!

The farro is nutty and earthy, and yet consistency-wise the dish comes off much lighter than the typical risotto.  The shiitake mushrooms went perfectly with the farro and this was a great way to use the Upton's Naturals Italian Sausage-Style Seitan we picked up at the co-op. 

FARRO RISOTTO

1 1/4 cups farro
32 oz homemade chicken stock (or vegetable stock for an entirely vegetarian dish)
1 - 2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 large spanish onion diced
6 oz shiitake mushrooms sliced
2 garlic cloves minced
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 tsp dried herbs de provence
pinch (abt 1/2 tsp) crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 package (4 oz) Upton's Naturals Italian Style Sausage-Seitan
1 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup grated pecorino romano
large handful chopped parsley
salt and pepper
squeeze fresh lemon

In a small sauce pan, warm the stock over low heat.

In a large pan, heat oil over medium/medium-high heat.  Add onions, salt and pepper lightly and sautee until translucent.

Add shiitake mushrooms and garlic, stirring while sauteeing for about 3 more minutes or until the mushrooms start to wilt.

Add farro and continue cooking for about 4 minutes.  Add white wine and cook until wine almost entirely evaporates.

One ladleful at a time, add the stock to the farro mixture and stir until liquid is almost absorbed.  Continue adding stock 1 ladle at a time, allowing the farro to absorb most of the liquid until the farro puffs up and breaks the husk, taste for consistency.  For this recipe we used all but almost 1 ladleful of the 32 oz.

Midway through adding the stock, add the red pepper flakes and herbs de provence.

Near the end, in a separate sautee pan, brown the italian sausage-style seitan.

When farro is desired consistency, remove from heat, stir in the cheese, parsley, 1 Tbsp butter and seitan.

Salt and pepper to taste and add a squeeze of lemon!