farro risotto with caramelised vegetables - le creuset love

farro risotto with caramelised vegetables - le creuset love

19 Aug 2013

I've just been on a quick trip home to Brisbane. I did manage to make a cake while I was home but I haven't had any time to prepare the images. Hopefully I'll get that on the blog in the next week or two. Instead I'm bringing you something I made a few weeks ago.




Have you ever cooked with farro? I bought a packet a month ago to make a side dish and with half a packet leftover, I wanted to find ways to use it. I chose this recipe for barley risotto and used farro instead of the barley.



Farro is a very nutty grain and it will never get really soft no matter how long you cook it, so think of this more as a warm grain salad than a risotto.



You oven roast the vegies and next time I make this, I would change the cooking time a little. The beetroot takes quite a long time to cook, so I'd put that in first adding the carrot and pumpkin about 10 minutes later followed by the onion and garlic.



I used my new Le Creuset pan to cook the farro. You may have noticed this blog isn't sponsored so if I use a product, it's because it's something I bought for myself and really use. This was a birthday gift so I now own two; I use them all the time and love them.



It's a very tasty dish which I served with salmon one night and steak the other. I can't wait to make it again, but as I've used all the farro, this time I'll make it with barley.

See you all again next week with something sweet, but if you can't wait and you're looking for some more of my recipes, my latest Delicious Bites post for passion fruit cupcakes can be found here.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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chicken cassoulet

chicken cassoulet

23 May 2012

Last year one of my friends purchased a subscription to Donna Hay magazine for my birthday. One of my favourite issues was last year's winter issue. I've made quite a few recipes from that issue, including this one for chicken cassoulet. I've got quite a thing for cannellini beans and quite a thing for my new Le Creuset black satin casserole. Since the casserole dish arrived last month, I've used it almost daily.



I've adapted the cassoulet recipe slightly. I don't eat chorizo so instead I chop up a few slices of beef pastrami and put that into the mix. I also use chicken thighs and drumsticks instead of a whole chicken because they're the parts of the chicken I like the best.



I make the casserole the day before serving so the flavours have time to develop and I can remove the layer of solidified fat from the surface before reheating the casserole in the oven. Sometimes I top the cassoulet with a layer of sour dough crumbs and thyme leaves which I bake until the crumbs turn golden brown.



Here's the original recipe from Donna Hay Magazine, June/July 2011 issue 57 
Chicken and Chorizo Cassoulet 
printable recipe
1 x 1.7kg chicken, cut into 8 portions
plain flour (all purpose) for dusting
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 chorizo, sliced
1 brown onion, peeled and chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups (500ml) chicken stock
1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
2 bay leaves
6 sprigs thyme
1 x 400g can cannellini (white) beans, drained and rinsed
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
Crusty bread, to serve

Dust the chicken in the flour and shake to remove excess. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan over high heat. Add the chicken and cook, in batches, for 6-8 minutes or until browned.  Remove from pan and keep warm.

Add the chorizo, onion, garlic, carrots and celery to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes or until softened. Add the tomato paste and cook for a further minute. Return the chicken to the pan and add the stock, tomatoes, bay leaf and thyme. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and cook, covered, 30 minutes. Remove the lid and continue cooking for 20-30 minutes more, or until the sauce has thickened. Add the beans, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Serve with bread.

Guess what I'm having for my dinner tonight? 

See you all again next week for some more food and a shopshoot. 

Bye for now,

Jillian

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