<br /> <br />Every now and then I come across a recipe which is so good, with such a delicate or rich flavor, or just a texture which is completely new to me, I’ll make it over and over again. And every time I make it, I’ll personalize it just a bit more. This farotto is one of them. <br />Farotto is risotto made of spelt, and the Italian name for spelt is farro, you get the picture. Originally this is a recipe from Hugh Fearnly-Whittingstall (author of the delicious and vegetarian recipes packed cookbook ‘Veg’, which my mom gave me for my birthday), already adjusted here and there to our personal taste. <br /> <br />To be honest, I never ate farotto in my live before, I was not experienced at all with this whole grain dish and had no clue how to prepare it, although I figured it couldn’t be that different from the original risotto. I googled a bit, and after numerous varieties of far otto, spelt salads and other spelt-dishes, I decided to give it a try. It was absolutely delicious and from now on a solid jab on the menu! The only thing.. (yess, there is a ‘but’, but only one) farro, or spelt takes for AGES to be done. And when I say for ages, that’s exactly what I mean. My god, I have been stirring in that pot for at least an hour. <br /> <br />And I figured, I must had done something wrong. <br /> <br />Luckily I was the one stirring in that pot, and not you, and so I found out what I should have done differently. Since I never cooked, baked, stewed or ate spelt in this whole-grain-form before, I didn’t exactly know what to look for in the store to begin with. I just bought spelt. On the back it said the spelt had to be pre-soaked for three hours, which actually turned me off right there. But alright, I gave it a shot, bought it, and soaked it in the morning, so I would be able to use in the afternoon. (I don’t know, but it gave me a macrobiotic feeling, which I didn’t exactly like). The recipe said to stir and cook the farotto in about 25 minutes (just like a regular risotto), which I did. But after 25 minutes it was not chewable at all, and certainly not right to serve yet. So I kept stirring and stirring, and adding broth, until, after an hour or so, – I still found them quite firm – I decided it was good enough. The taste was unbelievably good, and although the spelt was still quite tough, its taste made up for it for sure. <br />Though, the cooking time couldn’t be right – and also the book said something different – which brought me back to google again. (Thank God for google!) It told me that the whole grain spelt, as I bought it, had to be pre-soaked for at least 12 hours before using. Aha! So that was the trick! But if you’re like me, that’s not how we roll.. and pre-soaking for hours is just not something I like to do in the morning (for my evening dinner, come on!!). <br /> <br />The solution was clear and <br /> <br />yes, right in front of me in the book. I just over-read it in my enthusiasm, I guess! Instead of normal spelt, I should have bought pearl-spelt. Pearl-spelt has a removed outer kernel to make it more digestible and, yes, easier to cook. That’s it! It’s that simple! No pre-soaking, just stirring for 25 minutes, and done is your un-normally great tasting farotto with chewy kale and, leaks and soft goat cheese!

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