To me, this farro risotto with butternut squash and kale is fall comfort food at its best! I recently updated the recipe, too, to simplify it. This risotto requires neither stock — I use water alone now — nor constant monitoring: I add all of the water at once. It comes together in just over an hour and couldn’t be more delicious.
Risotto is something I feel moved to make about once a season — it’s delicious, everyone loves it, and when it’s made with whole grains and lots of vegetables, it’s healthy. too.
But it takes FOREVER to cook. In an effort to cut down the cooking time, I recently made this farro risotto, an old favorite, with a few modifications:
- In place of making a homemade vegetable stock, I used water alone.
- In place of slowly adding the liquid 1/2 cup at a time, I added the whole quart of water at once.
- In place of puréeing the roasted squash with stock, I puréed it alone.
It came together surprisingly quickly: while the farro simmered and the squash roasted, I grated the parmesan and prepped the kale. In just over an hour, the whole dish was done.
To me, this is fall comfort food at its finest, best gobbled up sitting by a roaring fire, blankets wrapped around shoulders, toes tucked into slippers.
Farro Risotto Notes:
- The squash can be roasted (and puréed) a day (or two or three) in advance.
- I find water alone to be flavorful enough here, but if you prefer stock here are two options: homemade vegetable stock | homemade chicken stock .
- Different grains will take different lengths of time to cook. If you use arborio rice or something similar, you may want to add the water slowly to ensure a creamy end product.
- Use any squash in place of the butternut. One roasted butternut squash will leave you with lots of extra purée — freeze it or make soup with it or make this risotto again.
- Any dark, leafy green can be substituted for the kale.
- If you leave out the cheese, this dish becomes vegan, and while I love the cheese, the puréed butternut squash adds a creaminess and richness. I suspect if the cheese were not there, I wouldn’t miss it.
First, minced onion and garlic sweat in a little butter, then farro enters the pan:
Meanwhile, roast the butternut squash:
Then purée it until it’s silky smooth:
After about 45 minutes, the farro will start looking creamy:
After you add some of the puréed squash to the farro, toss in a handful of slivered kale:
Finally, stir in freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano:
Description
Farro recipe inspired by this recipe on Serious Eats.
November 3, 2020 Update: I have simplified this recipe. View the Serious Eats recipe if you’re looking for something more like the original.
- 1 butternut squash
- olive oil
- kosher salt
- freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- 1 onion, finely diced to yield about a cup
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 cup pearled farro
- 1 bay leaf
- a few sprigs thyme
- ½ cup dry white wine or Sherry
- 1 quart water, plus more as needed
- kale, a small bunch (4 ounces or so), thinly sliced
- grated Parmigiano Reggiano to taste (1 to 2 ounces or so)
- Heat the oven to 425ºF. Cut squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds (and save or compost). Rub flesh of squash lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place cut side down on parchment-lined baking sheet, and roast until tender, 30 to 45 minutes depending on the size of the squash. Set aside to cool.
- Meanwhile, in a large, wide sauté pan, warm 1/4 cup olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until it’s translucent, about five minutes. Season with a pinch of salt. Add the garlic, and cook for another minute. Add the farro and cook stirring constantly for another minute.
- Add the wine, bay leaf, and thyme, and cook until the wine is nearly gone.
- Add the 1 quart of water along with a teaspoon of salt. Bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium or low — you want the liquid to be gently simmering. Simmer for 45 minutes or until the farro grains have expanded and are al dente.
- Meanwhile, pull the skin off the squash — it should remove easily. Purée the flesh in a food processor or blender until it’s silky smooth.
- Meanwhile, prepare the kale: remove the stems and ribs from the leaves. Make stacks of the leaves, roll them into cylinders, and cut them into very thin ribbons. Wash and dry the kale if necessary.
- Extract the thyme sprigs and bay leaf from the risotto and discard (or compost). Stir one cup of the squash purée into the risotto. Season with pepper to taste. Add a handful of the thinly sliced kale strips and a handful of parmesan. Stir until the kale is slightly wilted and incorporated. Add more kale to taste. Stir, taste, adjust seasoning with more salt, pepper, or parmesan. Serve immediately.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American, Italian
To me, this farro risotto with butternut squash and kale is fall comfort food at its best! I recently updated the recipe, too, to simplify it. This risotto requires neither stock — I use water alone now — nor constant monitoring: I add all of the water at once. It comes together in just over an hour and couldn’t be more delicious.
Risotto is something I feel moved to make about once a season — it’s delicious, everyone loves it, and when it’s made with whole grains and lots of vegetables, it’s healthy. too.
But it takes FOREVER to cook. In an effort to cut down the cooking time, I recently made this farro risotto, an old favorite, with a few modifications:
- In place of making a homemade vegetable stock, I used water alone.
- In place of slowly adding the liquid 1/2 cup at a time, I added the whole quart of water at once.
- In place of puréeing the roasted squash with stock, I puréed it alone.
It came together surprisingly quickly: while the farro simmered and the squash roasted, I grated the parmesan and prepped the kale. In just over an hour, the whole dish was done.
To me, this is fall comfort food at its finest, best gobbled up sitting by a roaring fire, blankets wrapped around shoulders, toes tucked into slippers.
Farro Risotto Notes:
- The squash can be roasted (and puréed) a day (or two or three) in advance.
- I find water alone to be flavorful enough here, but if you prefer stock here are two options: homemade vegetable stock | homemade chicken stock .
- Different grains will take different lengths of time to cook. If you use arborio rice or something similar, you may want to add the water slowly to ensure a creamy end product.
- Use any squash in place of the butternut. One roasted butternut squash will leave you with lots of extra purée — freeze it or make soup with it or make this risotto again.
- Any dark, leafy green can be substituted for the kale.
- If you leave out the cheese, this dish becomes vegan, and while I love the cheese, the puréed butternut squash adds a creaminess and richness. I suspect if the cheese were not there, I wouldn’t miss it.
First, minced onion and garlic sweat in a little butter, then farro enters the pan:
Meanwhile, roast the butternut squash:
Then purée it until it’s silky smooth:
After about 45 minutes, the farro will start looking creamy:
After you add some of the puréed squash to the farro, toss in a handful of slivered kale:
Finally, stir in freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano:
Description
Farro recipe inspired by this recipe on Serious Eats.
November 3, 2020 Update: I have simplified this recipe. View the Serious Eats recipe if you’re looking for something more like the original.
- 1 butternut squash
- olive oil
- kosher salt
- freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- 1 onion, finely diced to yield about a cup
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 cup pearled farro
- 1 bay leaf
- a few sprigs thyme
- ½ cup dry white wine or Sherry
- 1 quart water, plus more as needed
- kale, a small bunch (4 ounces or so), thinly sliced
- grated Parmigiano Reggiano to taste (1 to 2 ounces or so)
- Heat the oven to 425ºF. Cut squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds (and save or compost). Rub flesh of squash lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place cut side down on parchment-lined baking sheet, and roast until tender, 30 to 45 minutes depending on the size of the squash. Set aside to cool.
- Meanwhile, in a large, wide sauté pan, warm 1/4 cup olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until it’s translucent, about five minutes. Season with a pinch of salt. Add the garlic, and cook for another minute. Add the farro and cook stirring constantly for another minute.
- Add the wine, bay leaf, and thyme, and cook until the wine is nearly gone.
- Add the 1 quart of water along with a teaspoon of salt. Bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium or low — you want the liquid to be gently simmering. Simmer for 45 minutes or until the farro grains have expanded and are al dente.
- Meanwhile, pull the skin off the squash — it should remove easily. Purée the flesh in a food processor or blender until it’s silky smooth.
- Meanwhile, prepare the kale: remove the stems and ribs from the leaves. Make stacks of the leaves, roll them into cylinders, and cut them into very thin ribbons. Wash and dry the kale if necessary.
- Extract the thyme sprigs and bay leaf from the risotto and discard (or compost). Stir one cup of the squash purée into the risotto. Season with pepper to taste. Add a handful of the thinly sliced kale strips and a handful of parmesan. Stir until the kale is slightly wilted and incorporated. Add more kale to taste. Stir, taste, adjust seasoning with more salt, pepper, or parmesan. Serve immediately.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian, American
Description
Farro recipe inspired by this recipe on Serious Eats.
November 3, 2020 Update: I have simplified this recipe. View the Serious Eats recipe if you’re looking for something more like the original.
- 1 butternut squash
- olive oil
- kosher salt
- freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- 1 onion, finely diced to yield about a cup
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 cup pearled farro
- 1 bay leaf
- a few sprigs thyme
- ½ cup dry white wine or Sherry
- 1 quart water, plus more as needed
- kale, a small bunch (4 ounces or so), thinly sliced
- grated Parmigiano Reggiano to taste (1 to 2 ounces or so)
- Heat the oven to 425ºF. Cut squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds (and save or compost). Rub flesh of squash lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place cut side down on parchment-lined baking sheet, and roast until tender, 30 to 45 minutes depending on the size of the squash. Set aside to cool.
- Meanwhile, in a large, wide sauté pan, warm 1/4 cup olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until it’s translucent, about five minutes. Season with a pinch of salt. Add the garlic, and cook for another minute. Add the farro and cook stirring constantly for another minute.
- Add the wine, bay leaf, and thyme, and cook until the wine is nearly gone.
- Add the 1 quart of water along with a teaspoon of salt. Bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium or low — you want the liquid to be gently simmering. Simmer for 45 minutes or until the farro grains have expanded and are al dente.
- Meanwhile, pull the skin off the squash — it should remove easily. Purée the flesh in a food processor or blender until it’s silky smooth.
- Meanwhile, prepare the kale: remove the stems and ribs from the leaves. Make stacks of the leaves, roll them into cylinders, and cut them into very thin ribbons. Wash and dry the kale if necessary.
- Extract the thyme sprigs and bay leaf from the risotto and discard (or compost). Stir one cup of the squash purée into the risotto. Season with pepper to taste. Add a handful of the thinly sliced kale strips and a handful of parmesan. Stir until the kale is slightly wilted and incorporated. Add more kale to taste. Stir, taste, adjust seasoning with more salt, pepper, or parmesan. Serve immediately.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian, American
Find it online : https://alexandracooks.com/2014/11/06/farro-risotto-squash-kale/
Upon being asked how she was able to find balance in her work-dominated life, Charlotte Beers responded: “I think balance is highly overrated,” adding that “if you find your life is out of control, it’s probably a sign of being very alive and in the game.”
I loved hearing this and what Barbara Corcoran followed up with: “Don’t strive for balance; strive for anti-exhaustion.”
And the gems kept coming: After admitting to being in her fourth retirement, Beers said: “You are going to work longer than you think, so don’t get too unglued about the first 15 years,” adding that it’s important to “think about why you work,” and noting that her work allowed her, “to grow, to create an ever larger self.”
I felt like Charlie Simms listening to Colonel Slade dish out pearls on the plane to NYC.
This was the last panel of the event , and while I found all of the speakers over the course of the weekend to be inspiring, I can’t stop thinking about this one. These men and women, all seasoned veterans of big businesses, spoke candidly about their lives, about failure, success, divorce, affairs, etc. But I loved the bit about imbalance because that’s how life feels right now, and it feels good. So often it seems that Ben comes home, and I run out the door, and vice versa. But, when I think about what Beers said — “think about why you work” — it puts the imbalance in perspective. We both want to be engaged in meaningful activities — teaching a cooking class, being on the Co-op board, volunteering at various farm share events — and we want to show our kids that it’s important to make sacrifices and to contribute to things we feel strongly about. But alas, when life feels so busy, I can’t shake the words of my YouTube yoga teacher: “Balance, in both practice and life, is the key to finding inner peace.” (By the way, I’m not complaining. I have a happy and healthy family, and we live in a beautiful town with access to apple cider donuts at every turn. Just feeling reflective, that’s all. )
Anyway, I don’t know how much you all know about Martha Stewart’s American Made Award , so here’s a brief summary: For the past three years, Martha Stewart she has been honoring small businesses — rising stars in the fields of food, crafts, design and style — who are making a difference in their communities, influencing how we eat, shop, live, etc. The Summit , a two-day event, celebrates the ten honorees and their work and brings together a number of industry experts who, through panel discussions and presentations, offer tips, tricks, advice, etc.
A few things I learned:
On a practical level, I learned about Intuit QuickBooks , which I signed up for immediately, something I should have done a long time ago.
On an emotional level, I felt inspired by things I have heard before just never quite so convincingly: don’t fear failure, trust your instincts, be true to yourself, be authentic, etc.
But what struck me the most was this: not one person — not the woman making aprons in LA , not the President of the UPS Store, not the founder of Alex and Ani — made any mention of money or how making money was ever a goal or an upshot of his/her business successes. Each person seemed most proud that he or she was employing others whether it was five people in New Bedford, MA or a whole town in Idaho. And each speaker just seemed thrilled to be doing what he or she loved as a living.
In this regard, the apron lady, Ellen Bennett of Hedley and Bennett , stole the show. Ellen, who I am fairly sure convinced all 750 event attendees to buy one of her aprons, started her business making three aprons a week. With the money she made selling those aprons, she bought more fabric and made more aprons, and so on and so on. She and her team of 20 now make 1,400 aprons a week. I’ve never listened to anyone speak so passionately about a craft — seriously, the girl loves her aprons — and I loved hearing how her business began and grew and how much satisfaction she derives from bringing jobs to the American economy. Also, second to her love for aprons is her love for the book, Delivering Happiness by Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh. As soon as I find “ my apron “, this will be the first book I read.
A few other highlights:
• The story of Pashon Murray of Detroit Dirt, who started a compost company in an effort to turn abandoned land in Detroit into urban farms that will not only feed but revitalize her community.
• The story of Hamdi Ulukaya, founder and CEO of Chobani, who, upon wanting to start a Greek yogurt company in America, faced a number of challenges, namely the American palate, which was considered unfit for enjoying tart Greek yogurt. Hamdi, who spoke little English, pushed on and opened Chobani, now the leading producer of Greek yogurt in America.
• Blake Lively, who is as lovely and beautiful as you would imagine, described her business, Preserve, as “an extension of herself” and whose goal is to preserve the traditions of artisans all over America making quality-crafted goods.
In sum, I left the event feeling well-fed and very inspired. But the event made me realize, too, that I haven’t quite, shall I say, found my apron . And so running off to start a business, which is something I’ve always wanted to do, might not make too much sense right now. But, if any of you have already found your apron and for whatever reason haven’t yet strapped it on, my vote is to get cooking!
Thoughts? What’s your apron? Who and what inspires you? Is balance overrated?
The final panel of the weekend: Charlotte Beers, Martha Stewart, David Bobbitt, Tim Davis, and Barbara Corcoran:
The 2014 American Made Honorees:
Blake Lively and Martha Stewart:
How beautiful is this flower arrangement ? And this table?
Love this box of recipe cards and all of the cards made by Little Low :
Another really cute card:
Bought a bag of the Type 00 flour — excited to try it:
Love this Peg and Awl clutch:
Rompers!
Pie Box! I love mine :
Hedley and Bennett aprons — so cute:
And now, the food:
I’m still dreaming about the chocolate babka from Breads Bakery :
And the sandwiches from Jim Lahey’s Sullivan Street Bakery :
