Garlic Scape Farro Risotto with Collard Greens & Sausage
This is one of those yummy spring recipes that takes up just a “tad” more time in the kitchen than most of my recipes. I know stirring a pot of risotto may not be everyone’s jam, but I find it pretty darn therapeutic. I love how magical the whole process is. Adding a cup of broth at a time and watching a pot of grains turn into a creamy concoction that is sure to please the whole family. Even our two-year-old ate this up and I loved watching her slurp up ribbons of collard greens (a veggies she’s never eaten until tonight!) There are a few tips I want to get out of the way before you dive into making this dish. This is a “recipe of the week” for our CSA member’s who are receiving garlic scapes and collard greens in their veggie shares this week. However, if you don’t have garlic scapes or collard greens you can simply swap those for regular garlic and another spring green like Swiss chard, spinach, or kale. The other really important thing to keep in mind is that between the sausage and parmesan cheese this dish has plenty of salt in it so be sure to use a low or no sodium chicken or veggie stock. I even recommend using half stock and half water to keep the sodium content in check. Farro also takes a little longer to cook than regular Arborio rice so you’ll be hanging out at the stove a little longer with this grain. However, feel free to use tractional Arborio rice if you’d like instead of the farro for this recipe. Just keep in mind cooking times will be different. And speaking of the farro, we used a sprouted farro from Second Spring. I love using sprouted grains as they are easier to digest and contain more nutrients than un-sprouted grains. However, use what you’ve got available to you!
I hope you and your family love this risotto dish as much as we do!
Garlic Scape Farro Risotto with Collard Greens & Sausage
Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 50 minutes Serves: 4-6
- 1 cup farro (sprouted if possible)
- 4 cups low sodium chicken or veggie stock
- 3 cups water
- 1 lb Italian sausage, casings removed
- 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
- 3 garlic scapes, finely chopped (can sub garlic cloves)
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 bunch of collard greens, tough stems removed and sliced into very thin ribbons, and then roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup of heavy cream
- 1/2 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste (we only needed pepper)
Preparation
- Place the farro in a bowl with 4 cups of water and soak for 8 hours. If using sprouted farro you only need to soak for 1 hour (this will help it cook a bit faster). Drain the farro and set it aside.
- Heat the stock and water together in a saucepan over medium-low heat to keep warm.
- In a large saucepan or dutch oven over medium-high heat add the sausage and cook, using a wooden spoon to break up the meat a bit, until no longer pink and lightly browned, about 5-7 minutes. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon to a bowl and keep to the side. Add the onion to the pan drippings and cook, stirring often until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic scapes and drained farro and cook for 2 minutes longer or until the farro is lightly toasted. Pour in the wine and bring to a low boil, stirring constantly until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add 1 cup of the warm broth and stir occasionally for a few minutes until most of the liquid has absorbed. Continue to add more broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring throughout until most of the liquid is absorbed. Continue to do this for about 40-50 minutes or until the farro is cooked through and creamy. (Turn on some music, pour a glass of wine and enjoy the process!) You may have a little leftover stock depending on how quickly your farro cooks up.
- Stir in the collard greens, heavy cream, parmesan cheese and reserved sausage. Stirring to mix everything together and keep warm until the collards have turned bright green and wilted down a bit, about 5 minutes.
- Serve warm with additional cheese if desired.
Notes
*Cooking times will very depending on your specific type of farro or grain of choice.
This was delicious. I had to be a little creative but it turned out great. Used Arborio rice, veggie sausage and omitted the cream. Everyone devoured it and then had it for lunch the next day, win win!
Assume I add the sausage at same time as collard greens, cream and Parma?
Yes! Thank you for the catch!
How many leaves equates to a bunch of collard greens?