291302 Sat Dec 21 16:16:23 -0800 2002 10 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1584502 I recently bought a package of farro, after enjoying a dish combining it with short ribs (at L"Impero, NYC.) I would love some ideas on how to prepare it.. The few recipes I have seen use it either in soups or salads....I am searching more for main dishes or side dishes. Would preparation methods be similar to those for wheatberries?? Sat Dec 21 16:16:23 -0800 2002 0 erica 1 1584508 farro, lemon juice, chopped tomatoe, dicedn red onion, lots of good olive oil, torn basil leaves. a great side dish Sat Dec 21 17:44:43 -0800 2002 1584502 0 doc 1 1584530 Lots of good flavorful mushrooms (eg portabello, add some dry porcini if you like; or morel) sauteed with finely diced onion and a touch of garlic. Add chopped fresh rosemary, deglaze with a bit of red or white wine and leave a bit of liquid. Toss with cooked (boiled) farro and top with parmesan. Sometimes I add arrugala and skip the wine. Could be a side but it's usually a main for me. I have a hard time imagining a cooked vegetable that farro would *not* be great combined with, as a side. If you can get very fresh (ie not supermarket plastic container) ricotta, mix it with hot farro and honey for an Italian breakfast. Yum! Sun Dec 22 05:52:19 -0800 2002 1584502 0 foodfirst 1 1584535 When you say "farro" do you mean that wheat relative, "spelt"? In the whole grain (berries) format? Sun Dec 22 11:28:01 -0800 2002 1584502 0 Sharuf 2 1584546 There seems to be some confusion about farro..some sources claim that it is spelt, while others call it emmer wheat. On the package it is referred to as emmer, imported from Umbria. But it is not the same as wheatberries, as least it does not look the same. Sun Dec 22 13:34:52 -0800 2002 1584535 0 erica 1 1584545 Click on the link below which has info about farro aka spelt. There's a link at the bottom of the page that leads to a site that has about 30 recipes. Some examples incldue: Spelt burgers Spelt pancakes Spelt pizza crust You can find quite a few non soup farro recipes in goggle by entering the following in advanced search: With all of the words: recipe farro Without the words: soup Salad Insalata Or just cut and paste this in the regular search box: recipe farro -soup -Salad -Insalata If your replace farro with spelt in the above search you get more recipes, but they tend to be bread type of recipes. There are quite a few farro risotto recipes. For a side, farrow with butternut squash sounded good. There was a timbale of farro where heavy cream was involved. Farro with cod, Torta di Farro, Farro cake, Slow-Braised Rabbit and Farro Stew and many more. Didn't see any cookbooks. Hmmm, is there an unmet publishing need out there? Link: http://www.farro.com/ Sun Dec 22 13:11:16 -0800 2002 1584502 0 Stanley Stephan 2 1584547 Thanks, Stanley. But some sources say that farro and spelt ar not the same thing, although most that I have seen use the two words interchangeably. It is very confusing..as for the unmet need, I have found very little reference to farro in cookbooks...just some soup recipes..I suspect in the newer books there might be some mention as it seems to be one of those ingredients that have been "newly discovered"...I believe it was once eaten only by the poor in Umbria and Tuscany. On an unrelated topic, are you the poster who was about to undertake a water-heavy diet? How is it going?? Sun Dec 22 13:42:07 -0800 2002 1584545 0 erica 3 1584581 Lynn Rosetta Kasper's "Italian Country Table" has a few farro recipes. One of the best is farro-chickpea risotto with orange and sage, simply delicious. Sun Dec 22 23:26:32 -0800 2002 1584547 0 foodfirst 3 1584680 I have used whole dried spelt berries cooked according to the directions in the cookbook The Splendid Grain (sorry don't remember the author). and found it indistinguishable from farro and considerably less expensive. After cooking it is very versatile. One memorable combination was with grilled asparagus and baby artichokes, fresh shitake mushrooms and a little white truffle oil. Mon Dec 23 22:10:29 -0800 2002 1584547 0 Denise B 1 1584556 As I understand it, farro is an ancient wheat relative that almost became extinct. It was only grown in small production in Tuscany for local consumption until discovered by foodies and brought into larger cultivation. Could this have been an article in Saveur? Anyway, as far as cooking it goes I would say the closest thing (in terms of time and method) is long grain brown rice. One part farro, two parts salted water, bring to boil, simmer covered for 45 minutes, let it rest for five. I've mostly seen it in recipes for soup but have cooked it as a pilaf with porcinis and chard and parmesan as a side dish. Another really interesting wheat product is grano. It seems to be a polished wheat that is kind of "bouncy" like barley when cooked. I love it. Paula Wolfert is a good source of recipes and ideas for both these grains. Sun Dec 22 15:15:35 -0800 2002 1584502 0 suzannapilaf 1 1584622 The joy of cooking has a nice basic grain salad/pilaf version. I make it with toasted pistachios and dried cherries with a little scallion and sherry vinegar. Mon Dec 23 11:51:15 -0800 2002 1584502 0 JudiAU