Recipe: Farro "Risotto"

We've been excited and intrigued by the arrival of a new pastured beef stand at the Wednesday Market - Stony Mountain Ranch! Stony Mountain is a small ranch raising Piedmontese beef in Schuylkill County, PA. A heritage breed cow that comes from Northern Italy, Piedmontese beef is marked by being extremely lean and having a unique iron-y flavor, surprisingly bright and almost citrusy. Sounds great to us! We decided cook some up for Silka’s doctor-prescribed weekly steak (pretty great prescription, right?!) but weren't in the mood for our standard side of boiled potatoes.

Taking our cues from the beef, we decided to make a hearty Italian-style dish. So, as is so often the case, we walked over to Cayuga Pure Organics for some help. We quickly grabbed a bag of farro and set our hearts on a simple "risotto". After picking up some gorgeous carrots from from Windfall we headed home to experiment. The result was rich, warming and nutty! We're so glad to have added it to our repertoire!

Winter Farro “Risotto”

+ 1 cup farro

+ 1 lb carrots and parsnips, cut in to rounds

+ 4 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly

+ 6 cups of water (or stock)

+ 3 tbsp olive oil

+ 1 tbsp fresh oregano

+ ½ cup Parmesan, grated (plus more for serving)

1. Soak farro in water for one hour. Bring water (or stock) to a boil then add the soaked farro, turn to heat to low and cover. Cook for 45 minutes.

2. While farro is cooking, heat up olive oil in a medium sized pan, on medium-high heat. Throw in garlic. When garlic starts to brown, add in carrots and parsnips. Saute until the carrots start to get golden and soft.

3. Add cooked farro into the pan with carrots and add oregano and cheese. Cook, stirring constantly, for a few more minutes, until all the cheese has melted. Serve.

Serves 4

Recipe: Lamb and Freekeh Stew

Spoiler alert: we make a lot of stews throughout the fall and winter months. We'll usually make one on Monday night, eat it all week for lunch, and throw the extra in the freezer. And we'll do this over and over. This week Jake wanted to make something that tasted the way our recent Berkshire hikes smelled. Hey, inspiration comes from all places, right? 

As an earthy starting point, we got some cubed lamb pieces from Arcadian Pastures, and a variety of mushrooms from Mardura. Next, we were off to Cayuga Pure Organics, once again seeking their grain wisdom. Even before we finished describing what we had in mind, they handed us some Freekeh. Freekeh, they explained, are roasted green spelt berries and we love spelt so it was an easy sell. Another bonus: the grain comes from North African and Middle-Eastern cooking traditions, where lamb is often the focal point.

We already had some duck stock in the freezer from our last roast and we figured it would play into our stew perfectly. We picked up carrot and leek bunches from Migliorelli and headed over the Windfall Farms to do some research on greens. They suggested Senposai - or Japanese collards - which are very similar to American collards, only sweeter. Sounded great! And finally to serve along side, a boule from Hot Bread Kitchen, knowing we still had some Monterey Chevre in the fridge.

We headed home, took out the cast iron kettle and started to cook. Almost immediately the apartment was filled with the most amazing aroma - just like the woods after a rainy fall day!

Lamb Stew with Freekeh

+ 1 pound lamb cubed for stew (cut from the shoulder or leg)

+ 1 pound of Freekeh

+ 1 pound of mushrooms, sliced

+ 4 cups of stock

+ 4 carrots, cut up into ¼ in slices

+ 4 leeks, cut up into ¼ in slices

+ 1 bunch of heart greens, like collards, sliced into ribbons

+ 1 cup of flower

+ ½ cup salt

+ 3 tablespoons of oil

1. On a large plate mix salt and flour. Coat the the lamb pieces in the mixture.

2. In a heavy pot or dutch oven heat the oil on medium-high heat. When hot, brown the lamb in batches, a few minutes on each side.

3. Meanwhile prepare leeks and carrots. When all the lamb is browned put in a bowl and set aside. Add the carrots and onions to the pot. 

4. When the carrots and onions begin to soften and brown, add the mushrooms. When the mushrooms start to brown and emit a strong mushroomy aroma, add the stock and the lamb and bring to a simmer. Cover.

5. After a half hour, rinse the freekeh like you would rice and then add to pot. Bring back to a boil and then bring down to a steady simmer. Cover.

6. After another half hour add greens. Cover and simmer for half hour. Serve.

Serves 6