Sweet Farro Sidedish

Just made a trip to Oregon and loaded up on some 10-Minute Farro at Trader Joe's (love that stuff! Shoulda bought more)

Tonight I was making a flat-roasted chicken topped with herbs and garlic and lemon and I needed something to go alongside it. No potatoes in the house and just had rice at lunchtime so thankfully my thoughts turned to farro.

Mushrooms and onions for the farro

Some parsley for a little touch of freshness

10-min farro

This is what I mean by flat-roasted chicken. The recipe comes from a cookbook Matt gave me called "Heart of the Artichoke".

I decided to just wing it and throw some stuff in with the farro, and here's what I came up with. It was super yum. Sorry I don't have a picture of the finished product but trust me when I say it was good.

You can thank Arby for the addition of the raisins.. they are his favourite treat these days (probably since they're the sweetest, treatiest thing we ever feed him) so he is constantly asking for them.

Ingredients

• olive oil
• ~1 tbs butter
• 1 onion (I happened to have a "sweet onion" - don't know if that made any difference)
• some mushrooms (I had 3 big ones - would have added some more if I had them)
• about a handful of golden raisins
• fresh parsley
• 1 package of Trader Joe's 10 minute farro
• veggie bullion/broth for cooking the farro in (optional)
• salt and pepper

Method

1. Dice onions and slice onions thinly
2.  Heat oil and butter in a large frying pan over medium-low heat
3. Add onions to start them cooking slowly
4. Meanwhile, bring a largish quantity of water/broth to a boil in a medium-large pot for the farro
5. When onions are translucent, slide them over and add the mushrooms to one side of the frying pan
6. Back in the other pot, add the farro once the water or broth comes to a boil. Cook according to package directions (10-12 minutes) then drain off the liquid (save for soup another time if you like)
7. Give the onions and mushrooms plenty of time to cook slowly and get all caramelized and delicious 
8. While all this is going on, chop up the parsley
9. Add the raisins to the onions and mushrooms once things are starting to get browned and yummy looking. Stir and cook a few more minutes.
10. Mix the cooked and drained farro in with the onion/mushroom/raisin mixture. Add salt and pepper to your taste. Stir and continue cooking for a minute or two.
11. Turn off the heat and stir in the parsley

Make it a Meal

This was a terrific side dish to our lemony-roasted chicken. The sweetness of the onions and raisins are nicely balanced by the sour lemon.

If you wanted something simpler or vegetarian, I bet this would be really tasty topped with a simple salad of greens (ideally some arugula), toasted almonds, a simple lemon-vinaigrette, and possibly some parmesan cheese.

Leftover Chicken and Spinach Curry

So good and so easy... thanks to having a bit of roasted chicken in the fridge, I was able to whip this up in about half an hour!

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/chicken-spinach-curry/a32482de-e463-462b-bd93-a78bce0002c6

My version (based on what I had on hand):

Ingredients

• handful of almonds, chopped (since I didn't have any flaked)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2/3 of a red onion, coarsely chopped (what I happened to have in the fridge)
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 heaping tablespoon mild curry paste
• 1/2 cup plain yogourt mixed with a little water (to make just under 3/4 cup)
• leftovers from a roasted chicken (about a large breast's worth), chopped into rough cubes
• most of a bunch spinach, leaves roughly chopped
• cooked rice, to serve

Method

1. Heat a large frying pan or wok over medium heat. Add almonds. Cook, shaking pan gently, for 3 to 5 minutes or until toasted. Remove to a bowl. 
2. Add oil to the pan and heat over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes or until soft. Add curry paste and cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until aromatic. Add yoghurt and water mixture. Stir until well combined.
3. Add chicken. Bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 4 minutes or until chicken is heated through. Add spinach. Cover and cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until spinach has wilted.
    
   Spoon curry over rice. Top with toasted almonds. Serve.