Meet farro and feta with...

A fellow food blogger sent me some farro which was gratefully appreciated. I did a little bit of research into farro, it is an Italian grain and still relatively unknown in the UK. According the Paul Gayler it is known in the UK as spelt. Farro looks a bit like barley, but finer and darker, and the texture of farro when cooked is chewy and toothsome.
I thought it was going to be a health salad, and maybe it is, but it was quite delicious. I really enjoyed it and what’s more D enjoyed it too, which was a surprise because he is not a big fan of cous cous or quinoa.

I decided to make a recipe from the brilliant 101 cookbooks as I had some butternut squash and walnut oil. I have tweaked the recipe a little though, as I did not have all the ingredients, namely goats cheese, walnuts and red onions. So this is my homely version of Farro, feta and roasted butternut squash. We had it for a light meal. Good for a hot, hot day when all you want to do is sit and enjoy the sunshine while it lasts. There was enough left for both of us for our allotment lunch tomorrow. Now I will have to source some farro here, there are a number of Italian deli’s here, but question is do they stock farro. Something for me to check out in the coming weeks. Thank you Michele, you know why.

Farro, feta and roasted butternut squash

Serves 4

Ingredients

250g farro, rinsed and drained

250g butternut squash, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

4 shallots cut into quarter

1 tablespoon fresh thyme

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons walnut oil (or more olive oil)

sea salt to taste

100g feta cheese (optional - can be ommited for a vegan diet)

Preheat oven gas mark 6

Combine the farro and stock in a large pan over medium heat. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the farro is tender, 30 to 45 minutes. Remove from heat, drain any excess stock and set aside.

While the farro is cooking toss the squash, onion, and thyme with the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a pinch of salt on a baking sheet. Arrange in a single layer and place in the oven for about 20 minutes. Toss the squash and shallots every 10 minutes to get browning on all sides. Remove from the oven, let cool.

In a large bowl gently toss the everything (except the feta cheese) with the walnut oil (or olive oil). Crumble over the feta cheese if using and serve.