Back in March, in my “Kitchen Confidence” blog, I mentioned it was a point of pride that I’d cooked 12 out of the 19 whole grains we list on our web site.  I believe my exact words were, “Watch out farro, you’re next!”

Seeing how “next” is a relative term, I shouldn’t feel too embarrassed that it’s taken me about nine months to get there.  Let’s pretend there is no trace of chagrin as I announce that I finally, finally cooked up some farro!  Yay me!  And not just any farro: this farro hails from Italy and was purchased by a friend of mine in Sicily.  It’s occupied a corner of the grain shelf in my pantry for a while, and this past Sunday while waiting for the Patriots versus Jets game, I finally decided to try it out — during commercial breaks, of course.  Hey, I’ve got my priorities!

In the picture that accompanies this blog, you can see what a pale shade of tan my farro is; overall, it’s lighter in color than any of the other varieties of wheat I’ve tried before.  I thought maybe this meant the farro had been pearled, but I didn’t see perlato or semi-perlato on the bag, so I guess that’s the way it’s supposed to look.  It’s also a little bit wider than, say, your average wheat berry, and I took my farro’s plump profile as a positive sign.  It’s fat with flavor! was my thought as I poured two cups of farro into a pot, then added two cups of water.  That’s about one cup less than we recommend when cooking wheat berries, but I had plans for my farro and knew things would be just fine.

But first things first.  Put the pot on to boil, then cover and drop to a simmer for about 20 minutes.  Cheer for my boys in blue, then check the texture (a bit too chewy); return to a simmer for another 10 minutes if needed.  This method produced perfectly chewy-but-tender farro, with such a light nutty flavor that I had to back up and put down the spoon, lest my “testing” progress directly to all-out eating.

If I’d been planning on any number of uses for my farro, this is when I would’ve turned off the burner and moved on, but as I said, I had plans for my farro.  First I raised the heat just a bit and, while uncovered, added about a third of a cup of orange juice to the pot.  After a good stir, I gathered my other ingredients – frozen corn, frozen baby peas, raisins, salt, and pepper.  I have no idea of the measurements, I just added amounts that “looked right,” stirred everything together, and gave it five more minutes.  I was looking for a light citrus flavor, something to compliment the sweetness of the peas and corn, while also hoping that the raisins wouldn’t make things too sweet.  Turns out my guesses were right on, and the concoction I whipped together had the exact taste I’d been hoping for.

This week, my farro experiment has been the base of my abbreviated work-week lunches.  I ended up with almost six cups of citrusy whole grain goodness, and I think all but one cup of that is farro.  And guess who still has plenty left over?  Happy little me, that’s who!  So don’t be surprised if farro makes another appearance on this blog before I move on to the next whole grain left on my list.  Will it be you, sorghum?  Or you, amaranth?  Or maybe even you, teff?  Only time will tell, but rest assured, with 13 down, the six other grains I have left to try will go faster than you might think!  (Kara)

Be sure to join me next month for more Me & My Whole Grains, a series of monthly blogs that share the changes I’ve seen in my life directly related to whole grains.