Farro Risotto with Red Wine and Grana Padano
A perfect pairing of grains, wine and cheese in a creamy and luscious dish! Find the whole wheat farro in the grains or Italian section of your market.
Serves 6
Ingredients
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup water
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cups semi-pearled farro (10 ounces)
1 3/4 cup fruity red wine, Granache or Merlot
Kosher salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¾ cup freshly grated Grana Padano cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
In a saucepan, combine the chicken stock and water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and maintain just below the boiling point on a back burner of the stove. Place a ladle in the broth.
In a large heavy saucepan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the farro and cook, stirring to coat with oil and "toast" the farro, 2 minutes. Add ¼ cup of the wine and cook, stirring until it is absorbed, about 1 minute
Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt and a ladle of broth and stir the farro constantly to wipe it away from the bottom and sides of the pot. When most of the liquid has been absorbed but the farro is still loose, add another ladleful of broth and continue to cook the risotto. Continue to add broth a ladle at a time, stirring constantly, until the broth is gone. In the empty broth saucepan, add the remaining 1 1/2 cups red wine heat over medium heat. Add the red wine, a ladle at a time until the red wine is gone and the farro is tender, about 25 to 30 minutes total. If you run out of stock, add hot water.
Remove the pan from the stove and stir in another ladleful of hot water, butter, nutmeg and half the Grana Padano. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and let sit off the heat for 5 minutes.
To serve, remove the cover, stir, and serve immediately, sprinkled with the remaining Grana Padano.
