Last year at a lunch I went to I was served a pumpkin farro salad. I'd never heard of farro before but I really enjoyed it. So I did a little searching and found that you can buy locally grown farro at Thomas Dux (Mt Zero brand). It's a grain that looks a little like wheat, but you can use it as a substitute for pasta or rice, in salads, soups etc.
Ingredients:
2 cups Mount Zero Farro
2 teaspoons fine-grained sea salt
6 cups water or stock
3 cups butternut pumpkin, diced 15mm
1 large red onion cut into 1/8ths
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
4 tablespoons Mount Zero extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon Mount Zero red wine vinegar
1 cup walnuts, toasted well
¼ cup goats cheese, crumbled (optional)
1 bunch fresh herbs, chopped (Italian parsley, basil, mint, oregano)
Method:
Place the farro in a large saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 20 minutes, or until tender and drain well. Dress with olive oil and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
Preheat the oven to 200C
Mix the diced pumpkin, onion pieces and chopped thyme in a single layer in a baking tray and toss with 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in oven for 30-40 minutes, or until cooked. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with the red wine vinegar and set aside to cool.
Toss the roasted vegetables and chopped herbs through the farro and scatter the
surface with the crumbled goats cheese.
I used a mix of pumpkin and sweet potato, and used slivered almonds as that's what I had in the cupboard. Was the perfect accompaniment to some chicken for dinner.
