Fire up the flavour

Taste of travel. International destinations are out of reach right now, but today, my dinner tap into a wealth of flavour far flung from home. Explore the flavours of the world from the comfort of my kitchen.

Google: “Farro is an ancient wheat grain that originated in Mesopotamia. Farro is the hearty grain with a nutty flavour that’s packed with protein and fiber—first became popular in the U.S. via Italy, where it’s the star of Tuscan classics like farrotto (a farro risotto) and zuppa di farro (farro soup).”

“The Italian word farro actually refers to multiple types of ancient grains brought to Ancient Rome from the Fertile Crescent around 44 BCE. Cooked farro looks and tastes similar to barley, but with a more chewy texture and caramel notes. Whole-grain farro pops a little when chewed, like wild rice or wheat berries.”

“Baharat spice: A staple in Eastern Mediterranean cooking, a warm spice blend that varies by region – and even household. It typically includes black pepper, cardamom, cloves, cumin, nutmeg, coriander and paprika. It adds depth to rice, soups, meat, fish and chicken dishes.”

My dinner is crunchy, colourful, delicious and with lashings of flavour around the world that will bring your stomach to international destinations with each bite salad, pumpkin and lamb. Let’s fire up the flavour!!!

Ingredients

Farro salad

1/2 c farro
1 c water
1/2 c mushroom miso stock
6 broad beans
12 medley tomatoes
1 bay leaf (OPT)
salt
black pepper
parsley, tear into small pieces

Salad dressing

1 Tbs truffle infused oil
1 1/2 Tbs lemon juice
treacle, a drop

Roasted pumpkin

1 small pumpkin, cut into bite size
12 medley tomatoes, cut in half
2 Sprigs oregano
sweet paprika
oil
salt
black pepper

Grilled lamb

6 rack of lamb
2-4 sprigs oregano
3 Tbs oil
2 Tbs lemon juice
3 Tsp Baharat spice
2 Tsp cayenne powder (OPT)
1 1/2 Tsp garlic powder
oil
salt
black pepper

Garnish

Squirt of siracha chili sauce (OPT)

Method

Preheat oven 180 degrees C. Line baking tray with foil. Mix well garlic powder, Baharat spice, cayenne powder, lemon juice, 3 Tbs oil, salt and black pepper in a bowl. Place lamb in the spice mixture, then rub the spice mixture onto the lamb using your hands, covering all sides. Cover and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Meantime, wash and trim the end of broad bean and then pull the string along the side out. Put broad bean and pumpkin in a microwave safe bowl with enough water cook for 6-7 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside broad bean to cool then remove the shells and white skins. Set aside.

Roasting vegetables: Place pumpkin pieces and oregano on tray. Season with sweet paprika, salt and black pepper. Drizzle oil. Turn over season with sweet paprika, salt and pepper, then drizzle a bit of oil. Roast pumpkin with cherries tomatoes, season with salt and black pepper and drizzle a tiny bit oil for 15 minutes flip over pumpkin and continue to roast further 15 minutes. Check that tomatoes are soft, remove from oven after 15 minutes to a plate. Once pumpkin is done remove to tomatoes plate cover and keep warm.

Cook Farro: Add farro, water, stock, bay leaf and a big pinch of salt to a pot on medium high and bring it to a boil. Then reduce to medium low heat to simmer. Stir occasionally, cover with lid for 10 minutes. Then remove cover stir a couple of times, cook until water/stock absorbed, and Farro are cooked through and tender about 20-25 minutes. Drain excess liquid before transferring to a bowl.

Grill the lamb: Preheat grill. Using the same baking tray use for vegetables. After 30 minutes, bring out lamb let it sit for 5-10 minutes in room temperature before putting in oven cook. Place lamb in a baking tray, halfway turn rack around about 3-4 minutes and cook for another 3 minutes or to your liking. I prefer medium to well done.

Do dressing and assemble plate: Warm broad bean, pumpkin and tomato in microwave for 1 minutes if it had gone cold. Mix together dressing ingredients in a jar. Add tomatoes, parsley and broad beans to cooked Farro. Pour dressing and gently toss together. Put a stacker in the middle of serving plate, spoon some Farro salad inside, press gently then remove stacker.

Place 3 pumpkins around the Farro salad followed by 3 racks of lamb leaning on Farro salad. Garnish with siracha chili sauce. Do the same for the second serving plate. Serve with a glass of red wine and enjoy!!!!

Note: Oven may vary so too grill depending on what grill you use. The remaining roasted pumpkin keep in airtight container for other dishes. Instead of treacle you can use honey. Instead of broad beans you can add salad mix and herbs. Grill lamb to your liking. I like mine to be medium to well done. You can omit rack of lamb use beef or chicken.

https://helenscchin.com/2021/11/25/farro-salad-roasted-pumpkin-with-lamb-racks/

#helenscchinrecipes
#mainmeals
#meat
#cookingforthefun
#foodiesplus