Farro Risotto with Mushrooms and Winter Greens Pesto

Farro Risotto with Mushrooms and Winter Greens Pesto is a hearty and satisfying one-dish vegetarian meal.

Hooray for the arrival of March! While February was a fun month that brought the Super Bowl, Valentine's Day, and red carpet-watching parties, I will welcome the beginning of March with excitement for all things spring. I'm ready to start working out outdoors again, can't wait to bite into some fresh Spring asparagus, and am dying to try my hand at pickling radishes and other baby vegetables to garnish big plates of fresh salad. I'm doing everything I can, however, to dull my anticipation of warmer weather in Lincoln, because I know that March is a wild-card month as far as the weather goes.

Watch this quick video to see how I make homemade pesto:

The recipe I'm sharing with you today does a great job, in my opinion, of balancing cold weather comfort food with a nod towards fresher fare with vibrant green color. While the creamy, hearty taste and texture of farro risotto may taste and feel indulgent, this dish is chock full of good-for-you ingredients from fiber and protein-rich farro to vibrant green kale, Swiss chard, and spinach. Omega-3's make an appearance in the form of toasted walnuts and we get a good dose of Vitamin E and healthy fats from olive oil-saturated pesto.

This risotto is an extremely satisfying one-pot vegetarian dish that I love to make on a lazy Sunday night with some relaxing music playing in the background. Ryan takes care of patiently stirring hot ladels of broth into the farro while I make the pesto that will eventually get folded into the finished dish. We love the fact that the leftovers taste excellent the next day; and even more so that we've got Monday night's dinner taken care of so we can ease into a new week. Be sure to buy extra mushrooms  and crusty loaf of bread when you shop for the ingredients in this dish, as the leftover winter greens pesto makes a great spread for a delicious mushroom bruschetta I like to make for lunch at home on occasion. Bon appètit!

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Farro Risotto with Mushrooms and Winter Greens Pesto

Farro Risotto with Mushrooms and Winter Greens Pesto is a hearty and satisfying one-dish vegetarian meal. It's creamy texture tastes and feels indulgent, but the dish is full of good-for-you ingredients that will warm you from the inside out.

Tried this recipe?Mention @sweetcayenne5 or tag #sweetcayenne!

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Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Servings: 6 cups

Ingredients

For the pesto:

• ¼ cup toasted walnuts
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 4 cups power greens salad mix I chose a blend of chard, kale, and spinach
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• ⅛ teaspoon Kosher salt
• ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ cup shredded manchego cheese
• ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil

For the risotto:

• 6 cups Kitchen Basics Unsalted Vegetable Stock
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 12 ounces cremini {or baby bella} mushrooms sliced
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme chopped
• 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1 cup farro
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
• ⅓ cup winter greens pesto
• ¼ cup grated manchego cheese

Instructions

For the risotto:

• In a food processor, combine the walnuts and garlic. Process until a coarse meal forms. Add the greens, lemon juice, salt, pepper and cheese. Process until combined while gradually adding the olive oil. You should end up with a thick pesto. Place the pesto in an airtight container and cover the surface with plastic wrap. Reserve ⅓ cup for the finished risotto and store the remainder in the fridge for up to 1 week. Leftover pesto can be used on pasta, toast, pizza, or scrambled eggs.

For the risotto:

• In a medium saucepan, heat the vegetable stock over medium-low heat. Have a ladel ready nearby.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the olive oil and butter. Once the butter melts, add the chopped mushrooms. Saute until golden brown, about 4 minutes.
• Add the thyme, garlic and soy sauce and stir until fragrant, about 60 seconds.
• Add the farro and saute to lightly toast, about 1 minute.
• Add the wine and stir until almost completely evaporated.
• Add the broth one ladel-full at a time, stirring until each ladel is absorbed. Continue to do this until the farro is thick and the mixture is creamy. This will take 30-35 minutes, and should use the entire 6 cups of broth.
• Once the risotto is finished, fold in the mascarpone cheese, ⅓ cup of pesto, ¼ cup of grated manchego. Serve hot. Any leftovers can be stored in the fridge and reheated in a covered microwave-safe container for 1 ½ - 2 minutes or on the stove top, adding extra broth as needed to make the risotto creamy again.

Serving: 1.25Cups | Calories: 399kcal | Carbohydrates: 44.2g | Protein: 15.3g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 4.5g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 680mg | Potassium: 563mg | Fiber: 3.9g | Sugar: 8.6g