Farro with butternut squash, walnuts, and goat cheese

Happy Fall!

Fall brings beautiful weather, colorful leaves, and autumn squash. I love acorn squash, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, and kabocha squash and find myself cooking with these on a daily basis. I had family and friends coming to town last week and decided this farro dish would be delicious with large roasted gulf shrimp (followed this recipe-just did the shrimp part) and a fall salad. I loved how great the goat cheese complemented the squash and how the butternut squash wasn't too soft so it stood out against the softer farro. I added a bit more balsamic vinegar with the walnut oil to make it a touch more tastier!

Farro with Butternut squash, walnuts, and goat cheese

recipe heavily adapted from 101 cookbooks

1 1/2 cup farro, rinsed and drained

2 tsp sea salt

5 cups water

3 cups butternut squash, cut into 1/2 inch piece

1 red onion, chopped

1 Tbs fresh thyme, minced

3 Tbs olive oil

2 Tbs balsamic vinegar, divided

3 Tbs toasted walnut oil (or you can substitute olive oil)

1 cup wanuts, toasted

1/4 cup Belle Chevre Goat Cheese, crumbled (support Alabama Goat Cheese!)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

Combine the farro, salt, and water in a saucepan, and cook on medium heat. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the farro is just tender, about 30 minutes to an hour (If you are using pearled farro, the cooking time is around 30 minutes, longer for basic farro - best is to follow the directions on the back of your farro package for best results). You want to avoid overcooking the farro, it should retain its structure. Remove from heat and drain well.

When you are waiting for the farro to cook, toss the butternut squash, onion, and thyme with the olive oil, 1 Tbs balsamic vinegar, and a couple of big pinches of salt. Place on a lined baking sheet, being sure that the mixture is in a single layer, cook for 20-25 minutes until the squash is tender, but not mushy. Stir the mixture every 10 minutes to brown evenly. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a little.

Place the farro, butternut squash mixture in a large bowl and add the walnut oil, the other 1 Tbs balsamic vinegar, and the toasted walnuts. Taste for seasoning, add salt as needed. Once mixed together, add the crumbled goat cheese or you could plate your farro and garnish with the goat cheese, whichever you want!