Fry
Farro with Greens, Carmelized Onions and Vegetarian Chorizo
- Makes 3 servings as a meal, more when served as a side dish
Author Notes
In my ongoing quest to convert to an entirely vegetarian diet, I will occasionally try "faux" foods, e.g. soy "meat." Recently, my produce delivery company featured the products of a small, local, organic tofu farm. I've never been a tofu fan until I went to Japan, and I still haven't had tofu like that in the US, but I'm always hoping... So, I ordered some "chorizo" tofu and waited for inspiration. Meanwhile, it being beet season, I had some beets with greens in the fridge. My plan was to make quinoa with greens, but when I went to the cupboard for the quinoa, there sat the farro. And so, a recipe was born! Even my meat-loving husband pronounced it as having "good umami." —DeArmasA
What You'll Need
Ingredients
-
1 cup
farro (rinse and soak for 20 minutes)
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2 cups
kale and beet greens (and stalks), chopped
-
1/2
onion, diced
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4 tablespoons
garlic
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2 cups
vegetarian stock (I use Better than Bullion)
-
1 cup
crumbled chorizo flavored tofu "sausage"
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3-4 tablespoons
olive oil, divided
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Splash
white wine
Directions
- Place farro in a bowl and rinse with cool water, allowing farro to rest for 20 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Turn on teapot for boiling water if using bullion for vegetarian stock. If using homemade stock, put two cups in a pot and heat, but don't boil. The stock will need to be warm when you add it to the rest of the ingredients. If making bullion, make sure the stock is still hot before adding.
- Prepare vegetables: dice the onion, press the garlic (if not using prepared), wash and chop the greens and stems.
- in a 3 quart pot with a lid, add half the olive oil and heat on med-low. Add diced onion and carmelize, approximately 10-15 minutes. Add garlic (more or less as desired). Stir as needed. When the onions are soft and the garlic is starting to stick to the pan, add a splash of wine to deglaze. Add the greens and stir until greens are bright green.
- In a separate frying pan (just after you added the greens to your pot), add remaining olive oil, heat on med-high, and add crumbled "chorizo" tofu. Fry until crispy on the edges, but don't burn. Your greens should be bright green now.
- Add "chorizo" to the greens mixture in the pot and stir. Drain the farro, shaking off any excess water. Turn up the heat to med-high, and add the farro. Stir until well mixed. Add the vegetable stock and stir until the water starts to boil around the edges. You shouldn't need to add salt, but I did add some ground pepper before reducing the heat to low and covering the pot. Cook, covered, for 20-25 minutes. When done cooking, stir and serve. Depending on your stove and your interpretation of low, you might need to increase or reduce the cook time, but it's done when the liquid is absorbed by the farro. Enjoy!
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