Remember I told you about my palate changing a while ago?
It’s happening. It’s happening again! And this time, I’m back to liking mushrooms.
When I was younger, the only type of mushroom that I was exposed to, and that was widely available, was the button mushroom. I often made a mushroom and baby corn stir-fry when I had some ‘exotic vegetable’ at hand. That continued well into my teens. But then there came a point when I’d squirm on the inside, and politely decline anything that had mushrooms. As far as I can remember, I can attribute this change of behavior to two things:
- On one of those days when I wanted to cook something up, I asked my dad to get me a pack of mushroom. Unable to find fresh button mushrooms in the market, he got me a can of mushrooms just so I could cook my beef stroganoff. With a sweet gesture like that, how could I not use those mushrooms? (so what if they’re canned, I thought.) Little did I know that a strong aversion was to follow – canned mushrooms are simply a no-no.
- Shiitake mushrooms. Having taken a class on Japanese cooking, I made a brave investment in some shiitake mushrooms. Of course, it ended up in my ‘special’ cabinet for longer than it should have. And when I opened the cabinet to stock my next fancy acquisition, the pungent, woody smell of dried shiitake had taken over the entire space, and I detested it. I had to toss it out. And with that, my friendship with mushrooms as well.
While I disliked mushrooms, and I dodged them every now and then, I didn’t entirely ignore them. Especially not on an eating trip. And I’m so glad I did, because that’s when I first tried porcini mushrooms. That’s all it took for me to fall back in love with mushrooms again.
With a pack of farro and porcini at hand, I set out to make myself some dinner. The rosemary and walnut pairing is genius, I say. And that with a mix of button and porcini mushrooms is a recipe packed with flavour. Plus how can you not like a recipe that makes you feel wonderfully light even after you’ve had a hearty serving?
But what’s farro?
Farro is touted to be amongst the healthiest grains there is. There has been much confusion over farro and spelt being the same thing. In fact, on a menu in a restaurant in Italy, Farro was (wrongly) translated as spelt that left me confused. But as this New York Times essay points out, they’re clearly not the same.
Farro is also (less popularly) known as Emmer. It is a type of wheat that is very popular in Italy and is rather versatile – you can have it hot or cold, in salads, to give soups some bite, as a side dish, or with beans, wheat and other vegetables.
And before you ask, if you don’t have farro, you can use whole wheat berries. They’ll work just as well.
Nutty Mushroom and Rosemary Farro Recipe
Serves: 2-3
Inspired from: NY Times
Ingredients
- 5g dried porcini mushrooms
- 2 cups chicken/vegetable stock (or water)
- 1 cup farro, soaked overnight
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 220g / 8oz. button mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and sliced
- Salt to taste
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
- 15g/ 0.5oz. Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, more for the table
- 30g/1 oz. toasted walnuts, chopped
Directions
Place the porcini mushrooms in a bowl, and pour in 1 cup boiling water. Let sit 30 minutes.
Drain the mushrooms through a strainer set over a bowl and lined with cheesecloth or a paper towel. Squeeze the mushrooms over the strainer, then rinse in several changes of water to remove grit. Chop coarsely if the pieces are large and set aside. Add the broth from the mushrooms to the stock. Place in a saucepan, and bring to a simmer. Season with salt to taste.
Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy nonstick skillet. Add the onion. Cook, stirring, until it begins to soften, about three minutes. Add the fresh mushrooms. Cook, stirring, until they begin to soften and sweat. Add salt to taste, the garlic and rosemary. Continue to cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms are tender, about five minutes. Add the farro and reconstituted dried mushrooms. Cook, stirring, until the grains of farro are separate and beginning to crackle, about two minutes. Add all but about 1/2 cup of the stock, and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes or until the farro is tender; some of the grains will be beginning to splay. Remove the lid, and stir from time to time. Taste and adjust seasoning. There should be some liquid remaining in the pot but not too much. If the farro is submerged in stock, raise the heat and cook until there is just enough to moisten the grains, like a sauce. If there is not, stir in the remaining stock. If not serving right away, cover and let stand. Just before serving, bring back to a simmer, and use the additional stock if necessary.
Stir in the Parmigiano Reggiano, pepper, and walnuts. Remove from the heat and serve.
Note: You can make this several hours or even a day ahead and reheat. Add a little stock to it, and stir over medium heat to reheat.
Still scrolling down for a photo of the finished dish? Sorry! My memory card gave up on me, and I ended up losing a lot of my photos.