Farro con la zucca o la barbabietola gialla

Name: Farro con la zucca o la barbabietola gialla (Farro with Butternut Squash or Golden Beets)
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: Italy
Ingredients: 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for finishing; 6 cups water if making pilaf, or 7 to 8 cups vegetable or chicken stock if making farrotto; 1 yellow onion, chopped; Salt; 1 cup crumbled cooked chestnuts, if using squash (optional); 2 cups farro; 1 butternut squash, 1½ pounds, halved, seeded, peeled, and cut into ½-inch dice (about 3 cups), or 1 bunch golden beets, about 1¼ pounds total weight; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage; Freshly grated nutmeg; 1 cup vegetable or chicken stock, or as needed, if making pilaf; ½ cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped, if using beets (optional); Freshly ground black pepper

Farro with Butternut Squash or Golden Beets

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Italian Slow and Savory

By Joyce Goldstein

Published 2004

About

Squash and farro form a rich combination, ideal for a fall or winter supper. The flesh of the Italian pumpkin is a bit redder than that of butternut squash, but its texture—firm and meaty— is close to butternut or kabocha squash. To make this Tuscan dish more festive, you can add cooked chestnuts. You can also use golden beets in place of the squash. They make a lovely addition to farro and do not bleed color into the grain. I do not think they pair well with chestnuts, howeve