Farro with Sausage, Mushrooms, and Goat Cheese
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My neighbor (soon to be former neighbor, *sniff sniff*) and fellow blogger challenged bloggers to do a post today – a different sort of Cyber Monday, if you will. These days, I can use all the push I can get, so here I am! And I come bearing farro.
I love farro. LOVE IT. It’s similar in taste and texture to barley (which I also love), but it takes less than half the time to cook. Â Unfortunately, I sort of forgot about it for some time. But, after buying my first bag in a while, we went through it almost immediately. And then I bought another bag. And I’m still on a farro kick.
This is a one-pot dish with some of my very favorite things, like sausage, mushrooms, and goat cheese. There’s just a slight kick from the sausage and crushed red pepper, a little bite from the farro, and plenty of creaminess from the goat cheese. I used it as more of a sauce, stirring the cheese in until it was completely incorporated, but you could also just stud the final dish with crumbles of goat cheese. Or do both. I won’t judge you (in fact, I may just copy you).
By the way, did I mention that I just celebrated 7 years of blogging? Seven! And I’m going to do some giveaways to celebrate both blogging and the holidays. Stay tuned, starting later this week!
Farro with Sausage, Mushrooms, and Goat Cheese
1 Tbsp. olive oil
12 oz. Italian sausage (I used turkey sausage), casings removed
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 lb. white or cremini mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup pearled farro
1 (15 oz.) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1.75 cups chicken broth
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 bunch Swiss chard or spinach, chopped
4 oz. goat cheese, softened
Heat a casserole or Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the oil. Once hot, add the sausage. Break apart and stir until mostly browned. Add the onion, cooking for about 2 minutes before stirring in the mushrooms. Add a pinch of salt and cook the mushrooms. Stir in the garlic until fragrant.
Add the farro and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the diced tomatoes, chicken broth, red pepper, and oregano. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until farro is cooked and most of the liquid has been absorbed. When you have about 3-5 minutes to go, add the chard so it wilts down. Stir in the goat cheese until incorporated (alternately, you can just crumble the goat cheese over each serving). Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with shaved Parmesan, if desired.
I am always looking for new ways to use farro and this dish sounds really tasty!
Happy Seven Years!
I just made Joanne’s barley and mushroom casserole, so we must be on the same wavelength lately. I know. Big surprise.
This sounds real good. When do you add the chard/spinach?
A little before the goat cheese. Sorry, I just added that instruction!
SO good. Just finished my second serving. I didn’t get round to adding the goat cheese, just grated up some Parmesan on top. Just the thing on this raw and nasty day.
I’m so glad you liked it, Amy!
A-ha! So, THIS is how you always make our hallway smell fantastic every evening. 🙂 That’s just one of the many things I am going to miss about you guys….
*sniffle*
Thanks for participating. And you will be missed.
I really love farro but I don’t cook with it often enough! Great dish and great reminder!!
I love farro as well and this recipe looks scrumptious. Just curious, is the farro you buy pearled? I have semi-pearled version and there’s no way it would cook in 15 minutes. Do you think I could adjust the recipe for a longer cook time?
Yep, pearled. I’m sure you could adjust it for a longer cooking time since there’s not really anything that would get dried out. You could remove the sausage after it’s browned and re-add it if you think it could be a problem.
Thanks for sharing this recipe. It was so good on this cold winter night in Chiberia! I picked my dish!
Glad you liked it Christina. It was crazy today!
Hi Elly! I made this last night and LOVED it! Just wanted to chime in, because I did adjust it for a longer cooking time (about 45 minutes until my farro was done…stubborn farro) and nothing got dried out and everything was delicious!
So glad you liked it, Robyn!
Reminiscent of a risotto! The goat cheese adds an awesome creaminess that I wasn’t expecting. Two thumbs up!
Believe it or not, I had to let the farro simmer for almost an hour before the liquid was (mostly) gone. The same thing happened with an otherwise tasty Pink Parsley recipe. I bought pearled farro, but I wonder if the bag is mislabeled…
Gwen, so funny you mention this because I have been having the same problem with the last 2 bags of farro I’ve purchased! I have added less liquid and simmered longer and it still takes longer than it should to be absorbed. Very strange. At any rate, glad you liked the recipe!