This Hearty Vegetarian Main Is Perfect for Risotto Lovers

Farrotto is a risotto-style recipe that replaces rice with farro, a type of ancient wheat. If you aren’t familiar with this delicious and versatile dish, you should get acquainted. It’s relatively easy and quick to prepare, filling and nourishing, and of course, delicious. It has a more robust flavor than traditional risotto, but still works well as a blank slate for many additions—from cheese and herbs to meats and vegetables. When prepared properly, it has a beautifully creamy consistency, unusually nutty flavor, and a tender chewiness. In my opinion it’s a perfect dish for cold winter months. For this version, I lean into the grain’s natural savory appeal by pairing it with woodsy mushrooms and tangy sun-dried tomatoes.

While farro is an ancient grain that’s been grown in Italy for centuries, farrotto’s origin as a dish isn’t exactly known. Serious Eat’s Editorial Director Daniel Gritzer points out in his butternut squash farrotto recipe that the dish was popularized by chef Cesare Casella (who Daniel previously cooked for), one of the United States’ foremost experts in Italian cuisine and Tuscan cooking in particular. I too have professional experience with farrotto, and many happy memories from a few years ago of cooking it with chanterelles and lemon-thyme at The Herbfarm restaurant outside of Seattle, Washington.

The Challenge With Cooking Farrotto

The biggest challenge of making a creamy, satisfying farrotto is achieving the proper texture. Italians speak of cooking risotto “all’onda,” which means like a wave. It describes the finishing process of a great risotto, in which the rice is rapidly tossed in the pan. It should be loose enough to flip over itself in a dramatic wave-like motion, which enhances creaminess by making the grains rub against each other over and over as you’re tossing. 

Well made farrotto should have a similar “wave”-like consistency, but the challenge is that farro doesn’t naturally create the same thick fluid texture as properly cooked risotto rice does. Risotto rice has been stripped of its bran layer so it easily releases its amylopectin, the starch molecule that makes risotto creamy. But farro is still whole, with its bran intact. That gives farro great bite and earthy flavor but it also traps the starch inside the grain. As a result, farrotto can often lack cohesion. Lots of cheese and some good stirring will help compensate for the lack of starch released, but there are also a few other ways to ensure a creamy texture.

How to Ensure Farrotto Has the Right Viscosity

First, I recommend buying pearled farro (which is how farro is most commonly sold in the US, often labeled “pearled” or “perlato” on the packaging). Pearled farro has some of the bran removed, which helps speed the cooking process and release more starch than intact barley would. But it’s important to note that different brands of pearled farro can require very different cooking times, so it can be hard to pin down exactly how long any particular brand of pearled farro will cook. Different brands also may require varied amounts of cooking liquid for the grains to fully cook and have the proper loose creamy texture. 

The second way to ensure properly cooked farrotto is with solid technique. As Daniel points out in his butternut squash farrotto recipe, the key to all risotto-like preparations largely comes down to controlling the viscosity. You don’t want it loose and watery, but you want to keep it thinner than you might imagine. Since the farro continues to absorb water and thicken as it sits and cools, you’re often racing against time to avoid a thick and stiff porridge. Add broth as needed to keep it creamy but fluid right up until it hits the warmed plates, and it’ll be good to go. It should spread and flow slightly on the plate and not sit in a mound.

Adding Flavor to the Farrotto

When it comes to enhancing this farrotto’s savory flavor, I rely on a combination of dried porcini mushrooms and fresh mushrooms for a deep flavor that complements the naturally nutty grain. Dried mushrooms are one of my favorite pantry ingredients I always have on hand. I find that when rehydrated, they have a much more concentrated flavor than most fresh mushrooms (especially if high quality fresh mushrooms are unavailable). And don’t discard the mushroom soaking liquid, put it to good use and fold it into the farrotto. The other pantry item I love to use is jarred sun-dried tomatoes in oil (and their flavorful packing oil!) for their bright, tangy sweet flavor that balances the other hearty ingredients.

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