Some girlfriends and I recently held our annual Secret Santa Exchange Potluck. I know, it’s already mid January…and you’re probably not interested in hearing about Santa. But bear with me for a brief moment. We hold our Secret Santa exchange in January to avoid the painful task of trying to find a weekend in December that works for everyone. Who else is familiar with that?? So we do it in January and as a major plus we all get to benefit from the after Christmas sales for our gifts…W-I-N-N-I-N-G. It’s actually very brilliant and only difficult on the hostess since her family is required to keep their Christmas decorations up for a while longer, tree and all.
Even though the exchange part is just for us girls, the potluck includes significant others and children. So it ends up being a great time to gather after the formal holidays and an excuse to have one more round of Christmas cookies.
For this year’s potluck, I was in charge of a side. And I was super excited to share what has become a recent go-to dish in our household…this Farro with Sweet Italian Sausage, Kale, & Feta.
Farro is one of my favorite grains that I sometimes forget about. That sounds contradictory, but what I mean is I always seem to go through rounds of starches and grains, tire myself of them, then pick them up a few months later when they seem all shiny and new again. For awhile it was quinoa, then barley, then lentils…and now Farro is back in the mix again!
My fondness for Farro resides in its heartiness, nutty flavor, and rice like texture. It’s great as a side, in a salad, as the start of a grain bowl, or as a stuffing for squash and bell peppers. Using it as a stuffing is how we ended up with this side dish. I have a recipe in the archives for Stuffed Acorn Squash with quinoa, but when Fall came around this year, I was a little over quinoa. So I went with Farro instead and it was a huge hit. And now we love the Farro stuffing so much, we just eat it on its own.
This dish is so simple really, but there are a couple things that make it sooo good. First, with any recipe, the flavor you get at the end is really driven by what you start with. So in this dish, don’t skimp on the quality of the sausage. Since I knew this dish was going the Italian route, I chose a sweet Italian sausage. And I purchased the Sonoma County Meat Co. brand (through Good Eggs) which we have come to greatly appreciate and recommend. We love that the brand is local and that their animals are treated with the highest of humane standards. And these things together ensure the meat is super fresh and tastes so incredible. And the product leaves us feeling good after eating it instead of heavy. When you purchase sausage for this recipe, you can buy it bulk or in the casing. If in the casing, you just want to remove the casing before cooking.
What also makes this dish so good is that I sautéed the already-cooked Farro. So usually, I have treated Farro as more of a cold component. For example, I love this Summer Farro Salad. But this time, after sautéing the shallots and the sausage, I added in the Farro and sautéed that as well. It’s kind of like when you make pasta, you have to give it some time to cook in the sauce instead of just plopping the sauce on top. That’s what makes it all come together so well or at least that is what I learned from Giada :). Also, a quick side-note on the Farro, I purchased it already cooked from Good Eggs [insert blushing face here]. Having a newborn and a toddler at home now, I feel a new well earned right to buy already prepared components whenever I feel like it. But if you can only find Farro uncooked, follow the instructions on the package and make enough for 6 cups cooked. Cooking the farro usually takes about 30 minutes.
Ok, so that’s it! Sautéed shallots, sausage, Farro, some kale for good measure, and feta. Oh and some parmesan (yep, more cheese) and parsley as optional garnishes. I hope you love this dish as much as I do for its outstanding flavor and simplicity.
Thanks so much for reading friends!
Valerie
P.S. My Secret Santa gifted me with a very large cast-iron pan. 🙂 I see a family size Dutch baby in my future!
- ¼ cup shallots, chopped
- 1 lb. bulk sausage (I prefer the sweet Italian pork sausage for this dish)
- 6 cups cooked Farro
- 6 cups of baby kale leaves, rinsed
- ½ cup crumbled feta
- Freshly ground salt & pepper
- Olive oil
- Optional Garnishes: Grated Parmesan Cheese & Flat Leaf Parsley
- In a large saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat.
- Add shallots and sauté for 2-3 minutes until softened.
- Add the sausage, and while sautéing, break up into pieces. Sauté until sausage is fully cooked and browned (about 10 minutes).
- Add the cooked Farro, toss to combine, and sauté for 3-4 minutes.
- Add kale leaves, toss to combine, and let cook for 3-4 minutes until softened & wilted.
- Season with freshly ground salt and pepper to taste.
- Remove from heat, add crumbled feta, and toss to combine .
- When serving, optionally top with grated Parmesan cheese and flat leaf parsley.
Wonderful Valerie! Great share. i will try this week
That’s great Abbey!! Hope you enjoy it! Let me know what you think!! 🙂
We made this with Trader Joe’s 10 Minute Farro (a package makes a little over 3 cups of cooked farro) and their packaged Organic Mixed Baby Kale and Feta Cheese (the one that’s a block); Mild Italian Sausage from Whole Foods. Easy and delicious.