Fall Farro Salad with Beets, Beet Greens, and Feta
by Martha Rose Shulman, published in the New York Times

1 cup farro, soaked for one hour in water to cover & drained
2 medium-sized cooked beets, plus their leaves
salt, preferably kosher salt, to taste
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 small garlic clove, minced or pureed
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (may substitute 1 to 2 tablespoons walnut oil for 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil)
1/2 cup broken walnut pieces
2 ounces feta or goat cheese, crumbled (more if desired for garnish)*
1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, tarragon, marjoram, chives, mint

1. Bring 2 quarts water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Fill a bowl with ice water. When the water comes to a boil, add salt to taste and the greens. Blanch for two minutes, and transfer to the ice water. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then drain and squeeze out excess water. Chop coarsely and set aside.

2. Bring the water back to a boil, and add the farro. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes, stirring from time to time, or until the farro is tender. Remove from the heat and allow the grains to swell in the cooking water for 10 minutes, then drain.

3. While the farro is cooking, make the vinaigrette. Whisk together the vinegars, salt, garlic and mustard. Whisk in the oil(s). Add to the farro. Peel and dice the beets and add, along with the beet greens, feta or goat cheese, herbs and walnuts.  Toss together, and serve warm or room temperature with a little more cheese sprinkled over the top if you wish.

*Try Larkhaven Farm’s Whitestone Feta

Farro with Sausage and Apples

1 cup whole-grain Emmer Farro
3/4 cup bulk pork sausage (about 3 oz.) or pork sausages, casings removed
Butter or olive oil (if needed)
4 ½ cups fat-skimmed chicken broth
1 cup finely chopped parsley
1 Fuji apple (8 oz.)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and pepper

1. Sort farro, discarding straw like bits of hulls and other debris. Pour farro into a bowl, cover completely with cool water, stir, and skim off and discard any additional hulls that float to the surface. Drain farro.

2. In a 5- to 6-quart pan over high heat, crumble sausage with a spoon and stir often until browned, about 5 minutes. Spoon out and discard all but 1 tablespoon fat or, if necessary, add butter to equal 1 tablespoon fat in pan. Add farro to sausage in pan and stir until grains are dried, about 2 minutes.

3. Add broth and bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover pan, and simmer (mixture foams, so check and stir occasionally to keep it from boiling over) until farro is tender to bite and no longer tastes starchy, about 50 minutes. Stir in parsley, cover, remove from heat, and let stand 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, peel and core apple; cut into about 1/4-inch dice and mix with lemon juice. Stir into farro, season to taste with salt and pepper, and pour into a bowl to serve.

September is the perfect time for cobblers and crisps.  With the beginning of colder weather you begin to crave fresh from the oven desserts and the house full of that smell of fruit and sweet things baking...and yet it’s early enough in the season that there’s still loads of fresh fruit to be had.

There are infinite variations on crisps, cobblers, and crumbles.  They all start with fruit (perhaps lightly sugared and mixed with melted butter) as their base.  Crisps and crumbles are topped with a mixture of sugar, cinnamon, butter, and perhaps oats.  Cobblers are topped with a biscuit-like dough.  In a traditional cobbler, the spoonfuls of dough look like cobble stones atop the fruit!

The best apples to use for a crisps are the same apples that do well in pies:  Macintosh, Golden Delicious, Granny Smiths, Johnagolds, and Gravensteins.  For a twist, grab a flat of raspberries to make a crisp—they’ll do fine substituted for apples in the oat crisp recipe.

Cobblers and crisps work equally as well with canned fruit as fresh fruit, so consider that as you’re trying to motivate whether or not to pull out the canner and put up a box or two! 

Peach Cobbler

3 cups peeled and sliced fresh peaches
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter cut in small pieces
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
 1 teaspoon salt
 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter
 1/2 cup (or less) heavy cream

Lay sliced fresh peaches in a buttered 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of sugar. Dot with the 1/4 cup butter which has been cut into small pieces. For crust, mix together, flour, baking powder, 1 tablespoon sugar, and salt. Cut in the remaining 1/4 cup butter. Stir in heavy cream until dough is manageable. Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface; place over sliced peaches.  Bake at 375° for 35 minutes, or until top is nicely browned.

Apple Oat Crisp

3 pounds apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1/2 cup brown sugar, divided
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
1 cup(s) old-fashioned oats, uncooked
4 tablespoon(s) butter or margarine, softened

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  In 13” by 9” glass or ceramic baking dish, toss apple slices with ¼ cup brown sugar.  In medium bowl, mix oats with remaining 1/4 cup sugar and flour. With fingertips, blend in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press crumb mixture into clumps and sprinkle over apple mixture.  Bake apple crisp 30 to 35 minutes or until apples are tender and topping is lightly browned.