This is vegan comfort food at its finest – hearty and warming – but also delicious and fancy-seeming enough to serve to guests. Even omnivores will love this savory risotto-inspired dish. This one is a bit time-consuming as recipes using whole farro can be. As a time saver, you could use canned pureed butternut squash (which I didn’t even know was a thing until recently – what a time to be alive!) instead of roasting and pureeing your own – however, you’ll miss out on topping the final dish with extra roasted squash.
We loved Laura Wright’s original creation (the cracking technique for farro is genius!) and have made some simple tweaks to it, including the addition of roasted chickpeas for protein.
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash (or 1 cup pureed butternut squash, such as from a can)
- 1 1/2 cups whole farro
- 2 1/4 cups water
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 2 shallots, diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 4 sprigs of thyme, minced and divided in half
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/3 cup raw cashews, soaked for 2 hours
- 1 tbsp. miso paste
- 1 tbsp. nutritional yeast
- 3 cups cooked chickpeas
- 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
- Salt and pepper
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Peel the butternut squash, cut in half lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds. Cut into ~3/4″ thick slices and toss those in a tbsp. or two of olive oil. Bake the squash at 400°F for 25-30 minutes or until soft when poked with a fork. Leave the oven on as you’ll be roasting the chickpeas in a bit.
- Combine the 4 cups vegetable stock and 1 cup of water in a medium saucepan, cover, and bring to a simmer.
- Place 3/4 cup of the farro in a high-speed blender and grind on high until the grains are cracked into smaller pieces. Be careful not to overdo it or you’ll just end up with flour.
- In a large pot or dutch oven, heat a tbsp. of olive oil on medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the shallots and stir, cooking for about 2 minutes or until they become soft. Add the garlic and half of the thyme (about 2 sprigs’ worth) and stir, cooking for another 30 seconds or so.
- Add all the farro – both whole and cracked – and stir for another 3 minutes. Then add 1/4 cup of water plus the 1/4 cup lemon juice and stir until the liquid is mostly evaporated. Carefully pour the warmed vegetable stock from its saucepan into the pot with the farro. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer, cover, and let cook for 20 minutes.
- While the farro is cooking, prepare the butternut puree: Retrieve 1 cup of roasted squash (or 1 cup of puree) and place in a high-speed blender. Drain the cashews and add these to the blender along with the miso, nutritional yeast, 1/2 tsp. salt, a few grinds of pepper, and 1 cup of water. Blend on high until the mixture is smooth. Taste and add salt or pepper as desired.
- When the 20 minutes are up, remove the lid from the pot and stir the farro. Let cook for another 20 minutes with the lid off, stirring occasionally.
- While the farro continues to cook, prepare the chickpeas: Toss chickpeas in a tbsp. of olive oil, 1/2 tsp. of salt, 1/4 tsp. of cayenne pepper, and the remaining minced thyme (about 2 sprigs’ worth). Move onto a baking sheet and roast in the 400°F oven for 25-30 minutes, until crispy but not dried out.
- After the farro has cooked for a total of 40 minutes, add the butternut puree and stir to combine. Add 1/2 tsp. salt and some generous grinds of pepper and simmer uncovered for another 20 minutes (last one, I promise!). Stir regularly and remove from heat once the grains are tender and surrounded by a thick and creamy sauce.
- Top the farrotto with extra roasted squash, roasted chickpeas, and a few grinds of pepper.
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