Wow. If you’re reading this, you need to make this dish. Even if you’re not reading this, you still need to make this dish. It is that good. I absolutely loved these flavors together. The tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese made it taste rich but the lemon zest and herbs gave it a bright, fresh flavor as well. The perfect comfort food for Spring! I had never cooked with farro before, but it’s a very healthy grain with a texture reminiscent of barley and it’s a great source of both fiber and protein. This is a great vegetarian main dish, but it could also be a delicious, cheesy side dish. Either way, you won’t be disappointed!
Italian Farro Bake
Source: adapted from 101 Cookbooks
Ingredients:
Olive Oil Cooking Spray
1 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ t salt
1 ½ c pearled farro
1 c tomato sauce
2 ½ c vegetable broth (I did not have as much vegetable broth as I thought so I used 1 ½ c vegetable broth and 1 cup water and it was totally delicious)
1 t dried basil
Zest from 1 lemon
2 ½ oz (about 1-1/4 cups) Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, divided
2 t dried oregano
Directions:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 and make sure you have a rack in the top 1/3 of the oven. Lightly coat an 8x8 baking dish with olive oil cooking spray and set aside.
2. Combine olive oil, onion, salt and garlic in a large saucepot and bring to medium-high heat. Stirring occasionally, cook until onions start to turn translucent. Add farro and stir until onions and farro are mixed thoroughly. Cook for 1 minute. Add tomato sauce, broth and basil and stir. Bring to a simmer and then remove from heat. Stir in lemon zest and 1 cup of the Parmesan cheese.
3. Transfer the mixture into the prepared baking dish and cover with aluminum foil. Cut a few slits in the foil. Put the dish in top third of the oven and bake for 45 minutes, removing the foil for the last five to let the top darken. Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining cheese and oregano.
Yields 6 servings. Weight Watchers Points Plus: 7 per serving (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)
Nutrition Information per bunch from myfitnesspal.com: 265 calories, 42 g carbs, 7 g fat, 12 g protein, 6 g fiber
It looks delicious and simple to make, but what exactly is Farro and where would I find it in the store?
ReplyDeleteIt's a grain, so they might have it where they keep the barley or rice. My grocery store (Wegmans) had it in their "Nature's Marketplace" section which has a lot of the organic stuff and is where you can find grains like Quinoa and Farro. I bought mine packaged but some grocery stores that have bulk grains might have it there as well. If you can't find it, I'm sure you could substitute barley and it would be just as good!
ReplyDeleteI've never had farro before. Wonder if this would work with risotto?
ReplyDeleteJenna, I'm not sure if you mean substituting arborio rice for the farro or if you just mean cooking it on the stove top like risotto. I'm sure you could probably modify it either way. If you substitute arborio rice for the farro you may want to experiment with the cooking time - I'm not sure if that would be affected by the switch. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteMmmm. It looks hearty and delicious.
ReplyDeleteHey Emily! I couldn't find farro, I'm so glad you posted that barley would be a good substitute. Will using barley in place of farro change the NI/P+ value? Thanks! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm trying it out tonight, I'll let you know how it is with barley!
I'm pretty sure barley has a higher points value than farro. I think it will still taste great with barley though! Hopefully the cooking time will still be appropriate. Let me know how it turns out!
ReplyDeleteI recalculated the NI using barley and it was the same. Really good! Delicious as leftovers too!
ReplyDeleteOh good, I'm so glad it came out to be the same points with the barley and that it was yummy! :)
ReplyDeleteOk, so just made this and it is delicious. Quick question though; was wondering if it is supposed to be solid (not exactly the word but I can't think of anything else right now) like a lasagna or more loose, like a risotto? Mine came out more like a risotto, and just wanted to make sure I didn't do something wrong with it. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteLindsay - kind of in between? More leaning toward a risotto consistency though. It sounds like yours probably came out perfect. I'm glad you liked it!
ReplyDeleteOMG so good! I went to 3 different grocery stores to find farro (finally found it at whole foods) - totally worth it, this was amazing!! :)
ReplyDelete~Sarah
Isn't it the best? I need to make this again soon, I really really loved this recipe. So glad it was worth the effort!
DeleteFINALLY found farro at the Fresh Market after looking at a coupe of health food/ grocery stores in the area. I'm cooking this dish tonight so I'll have to trek to whole foods in the future if I love it bc the only farro package I saw at FM is being discontinued!
ReplyDeleteI hope you love it! My grocery store carries it but it seems like not very many others do. Let me know if you think it's worth the trip!
DeleteI haven't been able to find farro yet in my area! I have everything else I need to try this recipe out, it sounds delicious! I'll keep looking.....
ReplyDeleteBummer! This recipe is so good, I want you to try it! I just looked to see if Amazon carries it and they do, but only in 3 lb bags. http://www.amazon.com/Earthly-Delights-Organic-Italian-Pearled/dp/B00439BEYU/ref=sr_1_4?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1328826927&sr=1-4
DeleteJust found your site...just found this recipe.The dish was incredible and I love your site.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'm glad you found me and that you loved the recipe :)
Deletehey! i was wondering- does the farro need to be cooked (boiled and softened) before being used in the recipe, or do we just toss the dry farro in? thank you!
ReplyDeleteUncooked :)
DeleteI have the same comment as the poster above - does the farro need to be cooked before being added?
ReplyDeleteNope!
DeleteWow! This really was delicious and soo filling! Great idea! Yum :)
ReplyDeletecould wheatberries be used rather than farro ??? if so, uncooked ?? thanks
ReplyDeleteI have never used wheatberries before so I can't say. If you try it out let me know!
Deletewhat other grains could be used ie spelt ?? if so, uncooked ?? can't find farro here...thanks so much
ReplyDeleteI've never used spelt before, so I can't comment on that, but previous posters used barley and that worked out great!
DeleteEmily--this sounds so good !!! What is the NI breakdown as far as grams of fat, carbs and protein per serving ??? We would appreciate this calculation help !! thanks so much ! we Will look for farro on our next trip to the grocery store...thanks again Cody
ReplyDeletehello--the only farro we can find is NOT pearlized--how will that impact the preparation of this as far as cooking time or in any other way etcetc??? or will it matter ??? thank you
ReplyDeleteWhat did you serve with this...
ReplyDeleteLove this recipe. I need to know the amount of carbs. Hubby is a diabetic and I'm on weight watchers.
ReplyDeleteVery good, nice and al dente, but too lemon-y for me. I might eliminate the lemon next time...and I was thinking about maybe adding spinach.
ReplyDeleteMy BF accidentally bought regular farro, and I sent him back out for pearled farro. Raw, they look the exact same. I haven't cooked the regular farro yet so I'm interested to see if it's any different from the pearled farro at all.
This was a great hit & will become a regular addition to our menus (and a variation from our farro soups my daughter loves). We made it a bit more vegetarian by adding about 1/2 bag grated carrots, 2 grated zucchini & 1/2 pound baby spinach, then baked in an 8 x 11 dish. Next time we might use kale instead, but the spinach was in the fridge so ....
ReplyDeleteThis was amazingly good. I've already divided the remaining portions for my lunches for the rest of the week. I've put my husband on notice that they are off limits to him, I loved it that much :-). Thanks so much for the awesome recipe!!
ReplyDeleteI was only able to find regular farro (not pearled). Has anyone made it with regular? If so, would youreccomend any changes to the preparartion? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteTo answer my own question, I used regular farro and baked it for one hour. It was delicious!
DeleteI've made a lot of your recipes and this one was just as great as the rest lived it!!
ReplyDeleteHey, I made this tonight! Really tasty and different. I'd never had farro before. I was wondering if you or anyone on here knew if it would freeze ok?
ReplyDeleteDo you use raw or cooked ferro? I just made some ferr for a salad, and have so much left over, and was thinking about your dish...so cooked or raw?
ReplyDeleteRaw, sorry!
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