Farro with Acorn Squash and Kale

This is a delicious grain dish, prepared risotto-style, that’s a wonderful showcase for some fall/winter vegetables.

As is often the case with risotto, the add-ins are prepared separately and combined with the dish at the very end so the squash (I used butternut) must be roasted and the kale blanched. I toasted the farro in the pan (not the oven) and added the onion and garlic directly to it to sauté before adding the wine and broth.

Farro takes a lot longer to cook than rice, but doesn’t need as much attention, and it absorbs quite a bit more liquid as well. In fact, it seems to continue to absorb the liquid, despite being toasted first, even after it’s cooked so the dish is not as creamy as risotto.

I’ve made this a few times now and have tried a few time-saving shortcuts “ using frozen squash, steaming the farro “ but these versions were not nearly as good; the results are worth the time and effort of following the original recipe.