farro with veggies and veggie sausage

I haven't posted in a really long time, because I've honestly been in kind of a food rut lately, and haven't done anything exciting. That all changed last night, when I tried a new grain (farro) with some zucchini and peppers and field roast italian sausage. Seriously, if you can get field roast brand sausages, do it, because they are amazing! But, if you can't, don't worry about it. This would be really tasty without it, too!

First up, I got my farro from trader joe's and it's "quick cooking" farro, which means it's already cooked most of the way, and only takes 10 mins. When I read the instructions, it said something to the effect of 1/2 cup farro + 1 cup water or broth, bring to a boil, then simmer 10 mins. What I missed at the end was it said to drain the excess liquid, which I didn't do, because I was expecting it to cook somewhat like rice. Don't worry though, I made good use of the leftover liquid, so no big deal. 

I used the whole package which was 1.5 cups farro, plus 3 cups of "not chicken" broth. I followed the instructions, except for draining it in the end. The broth didn't add much flavor, and I honestly was using it because I had an open carton in the fridge that I needed to use up. Feel free to use whatever broth you have on hand, or just some water.

While the farro was cooking, I chopped up a red bell pepper, 2 scallions (green onions), a cubanelle pepper, a big zucchini and 2 links of the sausage. I put all of this into a bowl, and brought it over to the stove. I put a little bit of grapeseed oil into a large skillet, put it on high, and added about a tablespoon of minced garlic. We have a jar in the fridge, but if you don't love garlic as much as we do, just chop up a clove or two. I let the garlic sizzle for a minute, and then added all the veggies in, and stirred them around. I added in salt, dried oregano and basil, and a little bit of crushed red pepper. I let that cook for a while on medium high, stirring occasionally.

After the farro had cooked for about 10 mins, I looked, and the liquid hadn't absorbed, so I tasted it, and it seemed like it was done. I have never made farro before, but it was chewy and not tough,  al dente, so I figured that was probably good. I poured the farro into the skillet, broth and all, and let that boil and reduce down. After a few minutes, it was reduced down quite a bit, and I grated some parmesan cheese in it, stirred it in, and added a little more salt (to taste). 

If you leave out the sausage, you might want to include some beans in there, to make it a little more substantial. 

I had the leftovers for lunch today, and it will reheat well, so don't worry if you have leftovers. 

Sorry there are no pictures, but I hope you try it anyway. I'm sure you will enjoy it.