Farro "Risotto" with Spring Vegetables

Serves 3-4 as a main dish or 6 as a side dish

Looking for ways to incorporate more whole grains with your meals? Try farro! Farro is an ancient grain that is rich in B-vitamins, iron, and magnesium. It also has about twice as much protein and fiber as brown rice. This dish can be served as a side with chicken or salmon or stand alone as a main dish.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of dry farro (whole, pearled, or quick-cooking)
• 3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 bunch of asparagus, woody bases removed and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1/2 cup green peas (fresh or frozen)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 shallots, minced
• 8 oz cremini mushrooms, quartered
• 4 oz fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1-2 oz of freshly grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Bring a pot of lightly salted water to boil and cook dry farro according to package directions until softened, but still "al dente " or chewy (cooking time will vary depending on whether you have whole, pearled, or quick-cooking farro). Drain, rinse, and set aside.
2. While farro is boiling, heat broth to a simmer in a separate pot.
3. Bring another small pot of lightly salted water to boil. Add asparagus and cook for 1 minute. Add peas and cook for another 30 seconds. Drain asparagus and peas and plunge into an ice water bath to stop cooking. Drain the cooled vegetables and set aside.
4. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add shallot and cook for 1 minute. Add quartered mushrooms and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Add drained farro and stir to coat the grains in the olive oil (adding an extra drizzle of olive oil if needed). Saute farro grains with shallot and mushrooms for about 3 minutes.
5. Add about 1/2 cup of broth to the saucepan with the farro and stir until liquid is mostly absorbed. Continue adding 1/2 cup of broth at a time, letting each absorb before adding the next, until you have used all the stock. Stir in the chopped spinach with the last 1/2 cup of broth and cook until spinach is wilted and liquid has absorbed. This process takes 20-30 minutes and produces tender, puffed grains of farro.
6. Remove the farro from heat and gently stir in the asparagus, peas, lemon zest and juice, and parsley. Stir in the butter and parmesan cheese just until melted. The farro "risotto " should now be a creamy consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve warm.