Savory Farro with Celery and Mushrooms

Just a short post today to share this savory farro with celery and mushrooms. It tastes like a classic Thanksgiving stuffing, but with the delightful chewy bite of farro plus a lot of veg to lighten the whole thing up. Thyme and rosemary make it super herbaceous and savory. Plenty of butter makes it rich. Last but not least – the juice from half a lemon balances everything out and gives some much appreciated acidity. This versatile side goes with all kinds of dishes! I am partial to serving it with dijon salmon and with lemon and garlic cauliflower steaks. With these classic flavors, there are so many possibilities!

Savory Farro with Celery and Mushrooms

Servings: makes about 6 cups

Time: about 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup of dry farro (see notes)
3 cups of vegetable broth
2 heaping cups of chopped celery (a quarter inch thick or so)
2 heaping cups of diced yellow onion
8 ounces of sliced baby bella mushrooms
2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves
2 tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
juice from half a lemon
3 tbsp. butter
salt
pepper

How-to:

In a large sauce pan, start cooking the farro (see note) in broth until al dente. You can check the doneness by fishing out a grain and trying it. If it is the texture you like, pull and drain any excess liquid. After farro drains, return it to the large sauce pan.
In the last 10 minutes or so that the farro is cooking, melt butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high and brown the mushrooms (in batches if needed).
Reduce heat to medium and add onion and celery to the browned mushrooms (return them all to the pan). Cook until onion is golden and celery becomes tender, 5-8 minutes, adding more butter as needed. Salt the veggies.
Add the thyme, rosemary, and juice from half a lemon. Stir and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
Pour the veggies into the farro and stir to distribute everything evenly. Add about 1/2-1 tsp. of salt (depending on how salty your broth was). Add salt, pepper, and more lemon juice to taste.

Notes:

There are different types of farro. I used the pearled variety, which cooks faster than semi-pearled and farro with the bran in tact. Farro can also be comprised of different grains, namely einkorn, spelt, and emmer. Given these variations, it is best to follow the cooking instructions on your package of farro so that you tailor the process to your specific product. Make sure to adjust the amount of broth as needed!
Note that for all types of farro, soaking overnight will lessen the cooking time and may make it more digestible.