Mushroom Farro Stew

The polar vortex has temporarily lifted. In the NYC area Sunday greeted us with 40° temperatures. In the background though, a snow storm is brews. I want to be prepared so off to the grocery store I went.

Since moving to my new place I haven’t been playing around with recipes. However, cold weather and especially snow has a way of bringing out the comfort food fanatic in all of us. And yes I realize that this particular Sunday is a big deal in my area, bit I’m not a football fan. Making a stew while listening to a book sounds like a perfect plan.

This recipe requires a bit more prep than some of my others, but it’s worth it. This stew freezes well- so make a ton and store it!

Mushroom Farro Stew

Ingredients

• 4 cups of your favorite mushroom blend (I used oyster, shitake, cremini and baby bellas)
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 onion diced
• 1 stalk celery stalk diced
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 red potato minced
• 3 cups kale finely chopped
• one heaping pinch sage
• salt and pepper
• ½ cup cooking sherry or red wine (or grape or pomegranate juice if you don’t cook with alcohol)
• ¼ cup brown roux (recipe included in this post)
• 6 cups of your favorite stock
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup faro

How to make roux (from Vegetarian Times)

1. Stir together equal parts melted or hot liquid fat (butter, oil, or margarine) and flour in wide-bottomed pan or skillet over medium heat.

2. Cook the roux, stirring constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon, to desired color (the darker the roux, the deeper the flavor):
WHITE 2 to 4 minutes; add milk for a béchamel (the basic French white sauce) or broth for a velouté (a stock-based light sauce).
BLOND 5 to 8 minutes; used for veloutés and chowders.
BROWN 10 to 15 minutes; used for espagnole sauce and stews.
DARK BROWN 20 to 30 minutes; used for gumbo.

3. Add liquid preferably warmed to prevent the roux from seizing up. For sauces, cook, stirring constantly, until desired consistency is reached.

Directions for the stew

1. Heat olive oil in dutch oven or large soup pot
2. Sauté onions, carrots, celery, garlic, potatoes and mushrooms until onions are translucent
3. Add red wine- keep stirring – scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pan (cook for another 5-7 minutes)
4. Add sage, salt and pepper
5. Add the roux- keep stirring constantly scraping the bottom on the pan
6. Add half of your stock- gently stir and bring to simmer
7. Add remaining stock- reduce to very low heat and cook for 45-60 minutes checking frequently
8. Add the faro 30 minutes before completion- add 1/2 cup of water and raise heat to medium. Check frequently to make sure faro cooks through and doesn’t stick to the bottom of your soup pot.
9. Add the kale 15 minutes before completion

Serves 6-8

Enjoy!

Namaste y’all.