One Pot Farro with Italian Sausage and Tomatoes
Serves 6
My favorite grain is farro. It’s nutrient packed, chewy, nutty and is so versatile. This one pot farro recipe is slow-simmered with Italian sausage, cherry tomatoes, herbs, greens and finished with a sprinkling of pine nuts and Parmesan. Easy to make and so delicious…..and a perfect recipe for all your Farmer’s Market tomatoes.
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage
- 1 large white onion, diced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- 2 cups semi-pearled farro
- 24 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- fine sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper
- 3 ounces (about 2 large handfuls) fresh baby spinach
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil, plus extra for garnish
- 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
- freshly-grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish
- Brown the sausage. Heat a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and onion and sauté – using a wooden spoon to crumble the sausage as it cooks and stirring the whole mixture occasionally – until the sausage is cooked and browned, about 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 2 minutes more, stirring occasionally.
- Simmer. Add the stock, farro, tomatoes, crushed red pepper flakes, a few twists of black pepper, and stir briefly to combine. Continue cooking until the mixture comes to a boil, then reduce heat to maintain a low simmer (approximately medium-low). Continue simmering for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the farro is tender and most of the broth has been absorbed.
- Finish. Add the spinach and basil and very gently toss until the spinach has wilted. Taste and season with additional black pepper and salt, if needed.
- Serve. Serve warm, garnished with a sprinkling of pine nuts, Parmesan and/or basil as desired.
