Farro with Early Spring Veg

While we were in Davis, CA last fall, our friends Deb and Kip took us to a fantastic shop owned by their friends in town.  The original mission was related to Bauer pottery (a mini-obsession of mine), but Kevin also managed to find a beautiful cookbook there that turned out to be the perfect marriage of my two favorite things - fresh, seasonal food and excellent wine.  It’s called The Winemaker Cooks and it’s by Christine Hanna, who is a food writer, cooking teacher, and president of Hanna Winery & Vineyards (incidentally, that sounds like just about the perfect job to me...).  Anyway, this has become one of my go-to books in the kitchen and was the starting point for the Farro with Early Spring Veg dish that I made earlier this week.

Farro is a delicious, nutty grain that has become a foodie favorite recently, and for good reason.  It’s easy to make (all you need is some boiling water and a little bit of time) and the flavor is rich and satisfying.  The first step in this dish is cooking the farro, which is accomplished by adding a cup of farro and a tsp of salt to boiling water, covering, and simmering for about 50 minutes, similar to cooking rice.  The farro grains will pop open when ready.  Just drain and set aside until the vegetables are ready.

The original recipe in Christine Hanna’s book is Farro with Sauteed Ramps and Asparagus.  I think that that sounds delicious, but ramps are still a little hit-or-miss in terms of availability this early in Chicago.  So, I called in the next best thing - a bunch of green onions.  And a bunch of asparagus.  And, the most important part - a head and a half of bok choy.  By the way - have I mentioned that this dish is great in the case of CSA overload?

Cut the onions (white part only) into rings.  Roughly chop the asparagus and bok choy on a bias.  Melt a tablespoon of unsalted butter with a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet with a lid. Add the vegetables, a large pinch of salt, and a few turns from a pepper grinder.  Cover the pan and let the vegetables steam until they are tender, but not mushy.  This took 10-15 minutes for me, but it really depends on the pan, the quantity of veg, etc.

Once the veg are ready, add about a half tablespoon of regular butter and the farro to the pan.  Stir to combine and serve drizzled with very good, green olive oil.  So delicious - especially with an appropriately balanced Chardonnay.

What I'm Drinking: Ognissole Primitivo di Manduria 2008

I'm just realizing as I write this that, thinking about my current short list of go-to wines, I guess I have been on a bit of an Italian and Italian-inspired wine kick.  The situation promises only to worsen (improve?) with our scheduled trip to Italy and France in June, which includes a couple of days in (swoon) Barolo.  Stay tuned for more info on that...

In the meantime, I will continue to keep stocking my wine rack with bottles of delicious wine from all over Italy, including this Pugliese red from Feudi di San Gregorio.  The Ognissole Primitivo di Manduria tends to be a crowd-pleaser, a wine that gets great reviews pretty much wherever I take it, and about which I've received the "Where did you get this wine?" text more than once post-gifting.  Given that, it's not surprising that the neighborhood wine shop can't keep it on the shelf - my friends aren't the only ones who find it irresistible!

Primitivo is a close relative of Zinfandel, and Zinfandel fans will be especially happy with this wine.  The style is surprisingly new world - this wine packs a punch in the areas of fruit flavor and % abv - but maintains enough acidity and secondary flavor to stay interesting.  The color is on the border of ruby and garnet, and is on the lighter side of medium in intensity (more pinot noir than cabernet).  Not surprisingly, some slow-moving legs form on the glass with a swirl or two of the wine.

On the nose, this wine is all about fruit.  Red cherry, raspberry, jammy strawberry, dried cranberry, and red currant are all apparent.  Beyond the fruit, there is also a hit of baking spice (cinnamon and clove), a little bit of mineral earth, and a slightly medicinal character.  Alcohol is definitely apparent on the nose as well.

Though the fruit character might suggest otherwise to some, this wine is definitely dry, with good acid, tannins on the lower side, and a healthy dose of alcohol.  It all adds up to a juicy medium-bodied wine with a solid medium finish.  The palate is relatively true to the nose, with lots of red fruit and a slight medicinal quality in the background, but black currant and a hint of savory animal characteristic are also present to keep things interesting.

Overall, this easy-drinking wine hovers around $20 retail, and is a great pick for a Friday night gathering around some thin crust pizzas, fresh out of the brick oven!