A few months ago I posted once of my favorite healthy recipes, Farro and Kale Salad, and today I bring you another one of my new favorites: Roasted Farro with Greens and Grilled Chicken. This dish is delicious, healthy, and a great combination of different flavors (some lemon, a little cheese, greens, grains and chicken).
I love farro for a few reasons:
- high fiber, high protein, and Farro’s gluten structure is less irritating and many non-celiac gluten intolerant people are able to tolerate it without difficulty (yes Tina this dish is for you).
- it is similar to brown rice, but has a richer flavor (and a little sweet too)
- it pairs really well with greens (and pretty much anything you mix it with)
This dish is packed with flavor and protein (hello healthy dish). Cooking with farro is easy (you can’t really screw it up whether you bake it, boil it, or fry it up). The best part? This recipe can easily be changed according to people’s tastes (Vegetarian? Just take out the chicken. Don’t like broccoli rabe? Then use collard greens or even spinach).
Roasted Farro with Greens and Grilled Chicken
Serves 4-5
Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
Cooking Time: 50 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 cup farro (can be found here
or at most Whole Foods)
- 1/2 of a chicken bouillon cube (like this
)
- 2 bunches dark greens: escarole, collard, kale or broccoli rabe
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 spring onion or 1/2 bunch scallions
- 2 cloves of garlic
- a handful of fresh herbs: savory, marjoram, basil, anise (we used dill, cilantro and chives)
- 2 grilled chicken breasts, cubed
- juice of 1/2 of a lemon
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Spread the dry farro on a sheet pan and toast it until a little brown, about 10 minutes. (*Toasting the farro enhances the flavor). Set aside.
- Coarsely chop the dark greens. In a medium saucepan, bring 3 cups of water to a boil and add the chicken bouillon cube and the greens. Cook over high heat for 5 to 8 minutes, drain, and set aside.
- Combine the toasted farro with 2 1/2 cups salted water in the saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, cover, and cook for 20 to 30 minutes. (*The cooking time will vary according to the variety of farro, whether there is some of all of the husk still on, and how long ago the farro was harvested.) Drain the farro.
- Heat a medium cast-iron skillet or other heavy-bottomed pan over a medium flame. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the spring onion (or scallions), and garlic. Stir-fry for a few minutes, until the onion is just tender and beginning to brown. Add the farro along with the remaining tablespoon of oil and continue to fry to encourage browning, constantly stirring to avoid burning, 6 to 7 minutes.
- After the farro is fried, add the herbs, the cooked greens and chicken and warm through. Turn the heat to low and add the lemon juice, Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper and stir until mixed through. If the farro is looking dry (take a taste test), add another tablespoon of olive oil and mix. Turn the heat off and cover. Let sit for at least 5 minutes to let your flavors soak in.
Adapted from The Kitchn
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I need to eat this right now! Looks amazing! Pinning it first to share with all the world, then going to get the ingredients so I can make it immediately. Funny, I was just looking at my leftover farro I had from the last farro recipe you posted and was thinking about doing something with it…guess great minds think alike!
I absolutely LOVE farro! What an underused grain, so glad you found a way to incorporate it
Mmm that looks so good
I’ve never eaten farro before so now I’m really intrigued!
High fiber and high protein sounds good to me though!
YAY! love the recipe, can you come to Chicago and make it for me too please? k, thanks
Also, my emails have been coming like a day late ;( whats with that????
LOVE YOU!
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