“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth.” -Edith Sitwell
Welcome to My Tiny Kitchen!
A few weeks ago, after a particularly dreary day, I was craving something comforting. I knew I had farro in my cupboard and came up with this recipe on a whim. There is something about the layers of a winter dish where you start with butter or olive oil, then you add onions, then garlic, then the salt draws out the moisture from the onions creating the gorgeous fond on the bottom of the pan and you work up from there; there’s something in those layers and that savoriness and the richness behind that recipe that just feels like a warm hug on a cold day.
Farro is one of my favorite grains to cook with. It is a grain that is shaped a lot like rice, but unlike rice, it holds it’s texture. For example, when you make something like say Chicken and Rice Soup you’ll notice that the rice starts to sort of melt away or breakdown into the broth and farro doesn’t do that. Personally, I am not a person who loves pureed soup. Don’t get me wrong they are all delicious and have their place, especially in a multi-course meal or as an appetizer. But when that kind of soup is the main entree, by about the 10th bite I’m like, “I’m bored, on to the next thing” so because of that if I am going to make a soup as the entree, I want it to have a lot of texture and farro is perfect for that.
I do know Farro can be hard to source. I buy mine in bulk usually at a local health food store. Typically you can find it at your natural co-ops, I also have found it at Winco, at Trader Joes by the Italian Section, you can, of course, get it on amazon and I’m pretty sure Thrive has it. I always try to have some on hand for recipes just like this. But if you can’t find farro a great substitute is wheat berries, 90% of the time you can find these in the bulk sections of most major supermarkets. I’ve found them at Raley’s, Safeway, Winco, the co-op, they are definitely easier to source than farro. If you don’t know wheat berries are what flour is made of. You take wheat berries and you grind them, in a mill to make flour, but you can also eat them just like any other grain, but I would soak them overnight first.
With the training, I’ve had and the experiences I’ve gone through, it is important for me to eat a Whole Foods diet. That means that I try to stay away from processed and convenience foods. I think the additives, extra salt, and chemicals that are in these types of foods are causing the major issues in our diets today. Because of this I will take the time and plan ahead to make things from scratch. In this recipe, I show you how I make my own “sausage” the night before and I also always use homemade bone broths instead of the boxed ones you can find at the market. It just takes a little forethought, but by all means, if that is not important to you then please buy the jimmy dean or the premium sausage at the supermarket or the boxed stock. Do whatever is right for you and what you like!
* I have a lot to say about this and should probably do a whole separate post otherwise we could be here all day 🙂
I went to pick up some fennel because when I think of good sausage I think of fennel and the kind woman checking me out asked, “What are you making?”
I replied, “Oh, I’m making sausage,” and her eyes got so big because she could not believe that I would take on the task of making my own sausage!
But it really is very simple, we aren’t going to be grinding our own meats or using casings, so I understand that it may seem daunting, but it really is easy. It’s just your favorite kind of ground meat, mixed up with your favorite herbs and spices and then you put in the fridge overnight or in the freezer to be used at another time.
Personally I like to use ground turkey or ground pork because they don’t have a very strong flavor and then I can control the flavors a lot more than say beef. Another reason is that typically they have lower fat content. I am not someone who thinks fats are bad. I am very much for them. I think we need fats in our diets, especially for our brains, but I want to get those from healthy fats from things like avocados or nuts and I want to control my animal fats. So that is why I personally would not use beef. But again, if that is not important to you then, by all means, use beef or whatever kind of meat you like.
This is not meant to be complicated you don’t have to stick with exactly what I say, trust yourself and what you like. If that’s what you like or if that’s is just what you have then used that.
If your family is anything like my family I have also made sausage with venison, elk, and bear. But of course, if you cook with those meats you will know they tend to have a stronger gaminess and richness to them so you will need to compensate for that.
As far as spices go again what do you like? Personally, a staple in my kitchen is Herbes de Provence. I keep it on my counter right next to my salt, because I use it all the time. I also make it myself again because I like to control what goes into my body and spices are sometimes something that can have a lot of additives. But you can buy this already pre-mixed; it has basil, thyme, lavender, and fennel. But you don’t need to go buy this, you can use Italian seasoning if you have that, rosemary, thyme, basil, etc. Anything that you like. If you want your sausage to have a smokiness then use smoked paprika. If you want it to be a little spicy then add red pepper flake. Now for this particular recipe, I would be easy on the spice because it is a soup. But as far as any of the other herbs you like add them and if you aren’t sure then fry up a small batch and taste it.
When I make sausage, I always add fennel, fresh garlic, salt and pepper and then whatever spices depending on the recipe.
Homemade Sausage
Ingredients
1 lb Ground Turkey
1 Garlic Clove, minced
1/2 tsp Fennel
2 tsp Herbs de Provence
Salt & Pepper
- Mix all ingredients in a large bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight.
Farro & Sausage Soup
Ingredients
1 Onion, chopped
2 Large Carrots, chopped
3 Celery Stocks, chopped
1-2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
1 tbsp Herbs de Provence
6-8 Cups of Stock
1 Cup of Farro
2 Large Bay Leaves
3-4 Cups of Greens
- Brown your sausage over med heat in a large Dutch oven.
- While sausage browns chop carrots, celery, onion, and garlic.
- Once the sausage is browned remove from pan and set aside.
- Drizzle pan with olive oil and add onions, salt, and pepper.
- Sauté onions 3-4 minutes. Salt draws out the moisture in the onions and creates the brown fond on the bottom on the pan.
- Add garlic, carrots, and celery, sauté 2-3 minutes.
- Add ¼ cup of stock, deglaze the pan.
- Add herbs.
- Stir in farro and add remaining stock.
- Cover and let simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- After farro is completely cooked add sausage back to the pot.
- Add greens and let simmer 2-3 minutes.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve topped with finishing salt or parmesan cheese with homemade bread.
I didn’t grow up always in the kitchen or cooking. Both of my parents are good cooks and I’ve realized as I’ve gotten older that I’m very lucky to have grown up with a mom who cooked actual meals and we didn’t eat a lot of processed foods. But I wasn’t always interested or helping her in the kitchen, especially when I got older and I was busy with basketball. I found a love for cooking when I went away to college and I learned by watching the food network. I just started trying different recipes that I thought looked good. My philosophy in cooking is to just try it and to trust yourself and if it goes wrong you can always order a pizza!
You know what you like, you can do this, it is not difficult, it just takes a little practice.
Cheers!