Try farro instead of rice to kick up a favorite dish
I love to play with recipes I have been making for years to make them feel new and different.
It’s fun to make small substitutions that remarkably make a big difference in the taste. Whether it’s sorghum instead of honey, parsnips instead of carrots, or using a different cheese, the results can seem as if you have a totally different dish.
When I pulled out a recipe for saffron rice salad that I have been making for eons, I knew it was time for a change. So instead of the rice, I made a simple substitution of farro. It is now my new favorite salad.
Farro is a wheat-like grain that has been around for centuries, but is getting a much needed revival. It has the chewy texture of quinoa, the hearty flavor of rice, but is creamy and delicious. Nutty brown farro is believed to have originated in the area of Palestine. It is a great substitution for any recipe calling for rice or bulghur wheat, especially in tabbouleh. The cooking time is only about 20 minutes.
I have found it in various areas of the supermarket. Since it is sold dried, it is sometimes placed by the rice, couscous and dried beans. At other times, it travels over to the health food aisle. It is worth the search and is inexpensive as well as shelf stable.
Like rice, it is fine cooked in water, but if you want to kick up the flavor a notch cook it either in stock or apple cider. It makes a beautiful side dish or add a protein and it becomes a healthy entrée served over mixed salad greens.
I like to cool the cooked farro, then dress it with a splash of avocado oil, sprinkling of salt, pepper and cayenne, minced garlic, nuts and chopped veggies that are needing to be utilized.
Tammy Algood is the author of five cookbooks and can be seen on “Volunteer Gardener” on PBS stations in Tennessee. Follow her at www.hauteflavor.com