How To Cook Farro 5 Ways

How To Chose The Best Farro

The most common variety of farro in the US is Farro Medio, commonly known as Emmer Wheat, it also has three varieties. Choosing the best Emmer wheat is a challenge for which all type of Emmer needs to be understood. The emmer or as recognized "Farro", is distinguished according to the processing methods it has gone through.

All three of them are:

• Whole Farro: The variety of emmer wheat that has the most nutrients. This farro has the strongest flavor among the three because it is the entire grain that is still covered in the outer coating called bran.  
• Semi-Pearled Farro: This variety is the most popular among the level 1 chefs who love to cook from scratch. Semi-pearled farro is the type that has some of the bran removed during the processing to make it easier to cook. Yet there is a small coat left which provides fiber.
• Pearled Farro: This variety of farro medio is a choice popular for beginners or those who are just learning to cook. Pearled farro takes the least time to cook because there is no bran on the surface as it has been completely removed during the processing.

Preparing Farro For Cooking

Cooking Farro is a good leap toward good health. But with good health, this versatile food product can do wonders if prepared right. All these varieties of Emmer Wheat can be used in any dish. The only difference is how to prepare them beforehand.

Wash:

Despite the cooking methods, all these types of farro must be washed and cleaned up off any dust or processing remains.

• Take a big bowl that can fit in a big mesh strainer.
• Take a medium-sized mesh strainer and put the farro in it.
• Keep the bowl under the strainer and run the farro under the cold water 2 to 3 times or more.
• Collect the washed water every time in the bowl to see if the farro is clean and keep discarding the dirty water and refill. 
• Once clean water starts getting collected in the bowl, the farro is washed clean. 

Soak:

After cleaning, comes the process of soaking. Pearled farro here can skip the step as it cooks fast because it's already husked. But for whole farro and semi-pearled, soaking will make them easier and faster to cook. 

• Take the washed farro (whole or semi-pearled)
• Fill a bowl with clean water and pour the farro in the water.
• The farro should be submerged at least 2 to 3 inches below the water surface. 
• Cover the bowl from the top.
• Keep the covered bowl in the refrigerator and soak overnight. 

Toast:

Toasting farro is not a popular practice but it is not that uncommon either. Farro has a natural nutty taste that bolds up when toasted. However, toasting just washed farro can sizzle the oil bits therefore following things are a must to do.

• Drain as much water as possible after rinsing.
• Take an absorbent towel (kitchen towel, paper towel, or any clean water absorbent cloth).
• Spread the wet farro thinly to layer in half of the towel to absorb the water in the towel.
• Use half of the towel to cover and pad from above to absorb the moisture from the top.
• Take off the moisture as much as possible and then set aside to toast.
• Pour a tsp of oil into a skillet and turn the heat up to medium to high heat.
• Add the moisture-absorbed farro to the heating oil and toast it until fragrant.
• After 30 to 40 seconds when the farro starts smelling nutty, take it off the heat as it is ready to use.
• In case of preference, farro can be toasted some more until it turns caramelized brown. And with a little added sugar, it will be sweet and ready to add to recipes.

5 Ways To Cook Farro

Farro is a versatile food product that can be made in various ways. Here are 5 such cooking ways: 

1. Boiling

Boiling is a cooking method that helps to retain the nutritional value of farro. This cooking method requires not many ingredients but to make a tasty dish out of boiled farro following are a must. 

Ingredients and Tools

• Farro 1 cup
• Butter 1 tbsp
• Oil 1 tsp
• Water 3 cups
• Salt 1 tsp
• Pepper 1 tsp
• 4 cloves
• Half a stick of cinnamon
• 3 anises
• Deep vessel with a lid
• Spatula
• Stove
• Strainer

Instructions

1. Take a deep vessel.
2. Pour water inside it.
3. Place the vessel over the stove.
4. Turn the heat on to high to boil the water
5. Add salt, ground pepper, half of the butter, aromatics, and farro, and bring everything to a boil.
6. Let it boil for 5 minutes on a high flame.
7. Then turn the heat down to medium to low flame and let the farro simmer.
8. Cover it with a lid and cook until soft.
9. After done, take the farro off the heat.
10. Strain the excess water.
11. Use this boiled farro to cook with other vegetables or can also be eaten just like that.
12. Serve it hot to stimulate the sense of taste and smell together.

2. Steaming

In this process of cooking, the lid is used to cover the vessel to let the steam made from the water stay inside the pot. It is this very steam that will cook the farro in the steamer placed untouched over the water's surface.

Ingredients and Tools

• Farro 1 cup
• Butter 1 tbsp
• Oil 1 tsp
• Water 3 cups
• Salt 1 tsp
• Pepper 1 tsp
• Aromatics
• Deep vessel with a lid 
• Spatula
• Stove
• Strainer
• Steamer

Instructions

1. Take a deep vessel and a steamer that fits inside it.
2. Pour water into the vessel.
3. Add aromatics of choice to the water.
4. Keep the steamer above the water surface without any contact with water in the bottom.
5. Put the washed farro in the steamer.
6. Cover the pot with a steamer and the steamer with the lid.
7. Let the steam form inside the pot to maintain a constant even temperature.
8. Steam until the farro is al Dante.
9. Take it off of heat and let it sit to cool.
10. This farro can be used to make cold dishes like salad and is to be kept on the fridge and enjoyed cool. 

3. Roasting

To bring out the toasty nuttiness of the faro strongly, roast them in olive oil for five minutes and it will open up its natural flavorings better.

Ingredients and Tools

• Farro 1 cup
• Butter 1 tbsp
• Oil 1 tsp
• Water 3 cups
• Salt 1 tsp
• Pepper 1 tsp
• Aromatics
• A shallow vessel with a lid
• Spatula
• Stove
• Water absorbent towel

Instructions

1. Take the washed farro and put it over half of the water-absorbent towel.
2. Pat the farro from the top by using half of the absorbent towel to dry them as much as possible.
3. Take a shallow vessel
4. Pour a drizzle of oil and a little butter over the surface
5. Heat the vessel on a stove at medium to low flame.
6. Add all the preferred aromatics to temper.
7. After the aromatics sizzle, add the dried farro.
8. Keep stirring it with a spatula so as not to let the farro burn.
9. Once done, take it off of the vessel.
10. Pour it out on a plate.
11. Let it sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes for it to cool down.
12. Use this roasted farro just like that or can be used in salad and kept in a refrigerator and enjoyed chilled.

4. Baking

For the baking method, the farro is cooked at an even temperature of 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 175 degrees. As the oven is an enclosed space, it helps the farro cook evenly without much effort.

Ingredients and Tools

• Farro 1 cup
• Butter 1 tbsp
• Oil 1 tsp
• Water 3 cups
• Salt 1 tsp
• Pepper 1 tsp
• Aromatics
• Oven and Mitts
• Aromatics
• Baking Sheet
• Strainer

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius for about 10 minutes.
2. Grease a baking sheet.
3. Put a layer of soaked farro.
4. Fill the sheet with water just half an inch above the farro.
5. Add salt, pepper, and all the aromatics of choice.
6. Use an oven mitt to carry the baking sheet inside the oven.
7. Put it in to cook for 30 to 35 minutes undisturbed.
8. After done, take it off the oven and add more salt if necessary.
9. Set it aside for 10 minutes to cool down a little
10. Enjoyed with a slight crispy tone on the top and softness inside the layer. 

5. Stir-frying

Stir-frying is a method of cooking in which the farro is cooked in high heat over a pan or skillet until brown. Sugar can also be added to caramelize. The best way is to mix in the vegetables and sometimes meat if preferred.

Ingredients and Tools

• Farro 1 cup
• Butter 1 tbsp
• Oil 1 tsp
• Water 3 cups
• Salt 1 tsp
• Pepper 1 tsp
• Aromatics
• Lidded Skillet and Spatula
• Stove
• Strainer
• Chopped Onion 1 cup
• 5 cloves of garlic. 
• 1/4 cup of cup carrots
• 1/4 cup of bell peppers
• 1/4 cups of green peas
• 1/4 cups of cabbage

Instructions

1. Take a skillet and heat it on a medium heat.
2. Add oil and butter and let the butter melt.
3. Add onion and garlic, and stir them till transparent.
4. Put the evenly cut vegetables in the skillet and cook them for a minute or two.
5. Take them off to set aside for later.
6. Take the leftover butter and oil.
7. Add water to boil the farro in the same pan with salt and aromatics.
8. Cook the farro until al Dante.
9. Strain the water off if needed and keep it aside.
10. Add the vegetable mix and stir it well on medium heat.
11. Keep cooking and add the strained water and cook it covering
12. Keep stirring gradually until all the vegetables cook well to soft.
13. Take off once done and enjoy it warm.

How Long To Cook Farro

Cooking farro is easy but it is time-consuming. If counting it, the preparation of farro itself requires 8 to 10 hours, but to take a not of only cooking, this much time consumption can be experienced.  

1. Boiling: When boiling, the farro is submerged in water or broth of choice and boiled until it softens its texture it will take about 5 to 10 minutes for the pearled farro to boil as it has no bran. It takes 25 to 30 minutes for semi-pearled farro to boil until soft but for the whole farro, 35 to 40 minutes of boiling is a must.
2. Steaming: As this is a double cooking method, it takes a lot more time to cook and the flavors are also mild. The fastest to steam is pearled farro which will be done in 15 to 20 minutes even without soaking however sell-pearled will need 25 to 30 minutes to steam until al dante when soaked. In the case of the whole farro, it takes a minimum of 45 minutes to as much as over an hour and a half, the beginning is when soaked, and for the latter, it can take more if the farro is unsoaked. 
3. Roasting: The soaked farro is cooked on a pan by tossing it until brown. It will take about 8 to 10 minutes for pearled barley, semi-pearled will require 10 to 15 minutes, and as for the whole farro, 15 to 17 minutes is enough. Although the variety and cooking method is the same, timing differs due to previous processings done to farro. The taste slightly differs for each variety so does the texture.
4. Baking: Baking will need about 30 minutes in minimum to a maximum of 45 minutes depending on the variety of the farro. Thus with the work beforehand, it will need 11 hours at most. As for excluding preparation works, 50 minutes is enough to bake farro. 
5. Stir-frying: Stirfrying is an easy cooking method but requires time. For farro, it will take about 10 minutes of pearled to 15 of semi-pearled nas the whole farro will take about 30 minutes at the most. But it will need time to cook vegetables too which will add on 10 minutes thus this process will require at least 20 to the most of 45 minutes only for stirfrying.

Additional Tips

Farro, if consumed, is good for health but there are some things to keep in mind while doing farro:

• Soaking the farro will soften the bran beforehand thus it makes the farro cook faster.
• Instead of seasoned water, broth is a good substitute to use while cooking farro.
• Boiling the water beforehand with aromatics helps the water have more flavor thus is recommended.
• Flavors like ginger, garlic, or any other kinds can be boiled and made paste beforehand to mix with farro
• Excess water after the farro is cooked can also be used as a broth or to add to another dish to elevate the taste.
• Instead of a pot, a pressure cooker can make the work faster and easier.
• The above 5 cooking methods can be taken as the beginning, after following these processes, the prepared farro can also be used by mixing with other recipes like salad, dessert, or other.