by Vineyard Cottages | Jul 1, 2021 | Hygge, recipes, Winter Eating
Farro is an ancient grain packed full of nutrients. It is high in protein (always a tick in the box) fibre and antioxidants. Years ago I was introduced to it when I was working with Sabato and it’s been a staple in our cupboards ever since. Even Nigella gave it the thumbs up in Nigelissima where her recipe for farro risotto had everyone ditching the rice for a while and swapping to this fabulous grain.
I use it a lot for salads in the summer and as a base for using up ingredients in the fridge. Last week I had a pot of ricotta to finish up, some lemons, peas and a jug of chicken stock. With a gale blowing outside the window it was the perfect required lunch! This Smoked Chilli Farro Risotto is a delicious winter warmer packed full of protein and nutrients and is perfect for a crowd.
Farro doesn’t melt together like arborio rice. It will go creamy like porridge if cooked long and slow but I quite like the almost chewy texture before that stage. Experiment as you will!
This feeds two comfortably, one greedily.
Base Recipe
1 Cup Farro
3 Cups Hot Stock
This recipe
1/2 red onion
1 clove of garlic
1/2 cup of ricotta
1/2 cup of cooked peas
Zest of half a lemon
1/2 tsp smoked chilli flakes / paprika flakes (try these if you can get them)
1/4 cup dry sherry or dry white wine
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Chopped parsley
salt and pepper
Method
Rinse the farro in warm water and soak while you prep the other ingredients.
Bring the stock to boil and lower to a gentle simmer.
in a sauté pan or deep frying pan, sauté the onion and garlic in olive oil until soft and golden
Drain the farro grains and add to the onions and garlic. Stir to heat through and combine. Add the wine / sherry and stock and cover with a lid or foil. Simmer for 30 mins on low stirring occasionally. Stir in the zest, peas and chilli flakes and season to taste.
Crumble in the ricotta and turn the heat off. Leave to rest for a min and serve. I usually add a touch more chilli, a good drizzle of olive oil and some chopped parsley to serve. Of course this dish would be perfect with a pile of parmesan sprinkled on top – but I’d eaten it all!
Double and quadruple the Smoked Chilli Farro Risotto to feed the masses!
We have served this for our conference guests and it is always a winner! Try it, add chicken or salmon, any vegetables you like and definitely parmesan!
by Vineyard Cottages | Jun 8, 2020 | Hygge, Vineyard Cottges, Wellness, Winter Stays, Winter Weddings
We’re into the first week in June and it’s certainly got that wonderful winter feel about it. My morning walks with the dogs have been very very foggy. Usually it means we’re in for a stonking sunny day and I watch as the mist rolls away over the vineyard to bright sunshine and a chill in the air.
This weekend was the weekend we tackled the wood pile. Feeding 8 log burners throughout winter and spring means we get through around 10 sq metres plus of chopped wood between May and October. Of course with Covid 19 turning 202 on it’s head, the fireplaces went on in March, more for comfort than necessity.
When we first came to VC we were getting wood delivered two or three times a winter. It was expensive and took a lot of time away from the day to day winter tasks. Over the years, I got a bit smarter, keeping my eyes open for people wanting to get rid of wood from their properties in early spring or seeing if any arborists were wanting to offload wood cheaply.
We started making Swedish log piles at the front of the property which were visually lovely as well as practical. The logs would spend summer in the sun seasoning for winter.
Why do we season the logs? By seasoning or drying the logs we reduce the moisture content by about 50%. They reduce in weight and burn a lot better, without the natural oils and resins spitting in the fire.
Last spring I arranged for a local arborist to deposit a truck’s worth of logs on the grass outside the house. The logs were double the size I’d seen (or glanced at speed) in the photos and when Barry arrived home from work, he took one look and announced he wasn’t cutting them up! Cue the log splitter.
The logs spent summer in the garden and yesterday we lopped and chopped firewood into chunks. I’ll be honest there is still a huge amount to go, but between us we filled the bins and tackled at least half the piles. Fuelled by the dhal we grew to love during lockdown, by sunset it felt like a good job jobbed!
The fireplaces at Vineyard Cottages are much loved by everyone that stays here and are a real highlight for our winter wedding photography. We use a mixture of hard and soft wood to keep the rolling heat from the fires continuous throughout the evenings. Many of the guests will head out to dinner, so we pop in to throw a log on the fire and make sure it’s still warm for when they return. Last year I sat with one of our regular guests, now a lovely friend and we drank tea, ate cookies and watched the fire in the log burner. When we topped the fire up with macadamia nut shells, they cracked and made little clinking noises as they burnt. It was the simple notion of just being there watching the flames that we loved and she remembers the most.
Come and stay and enjoy the fires.
Elle
