Spring is here and asparagus is on sale. What will you do with it? Combine it with farro and shrimp for a quick and easy meal tonight that will put a spring in your step. It’s easy!
What is farro? An ancient grain of the wheat variety that we discovered in Italy. I fell in love with its toothsome texture and nutty flavor. If you’re gluten free, feel free to substitute with another whole grain such as barley. Whole grain pantry staples are a great way to add more fiber to your diet as well as stretch your food budget.
Boiling the shrimp shells to make stock provides a great base for cooking the farro. Simmer farro in stock along with minced garlic and dried mint for about 20 minutes until tender. At that point, add the chopped asparagus, red bell pepper and shrimp seasoned with salt, garlic powder, chopped parsley stems (because that’s what I had left), a little juice from a Clementine and olive oil. Cover and cook a few more minutes until shrimp has turned pink and asparagus is crisp tender. Top with feta cheese and delight in these refreshing vegetal flavors.
Ingredients:
- asparagus
- farro
- shrimp
- red bell pepper
- shrimp stock
- mint
- parsley
- juice of Clementine
- garlic
- olive oil
- salt
- feta cheese
Is this a recipe? You could adapt it to whatever ingredients you have on hand. Here’s how I go about creating a simple one pot meal such as this one: Start with an anchor ingredient. In this case, the asparagus. Decide on the direction you want the flavor profile to go. I decided on fresh herbs and citrus. What grain and protein would complement them? What else did I have that might add a pop of color and sweetness? Red bell pepper. Anything else that might contribute a little zing? I had some feta, so I crumbled that on top.
This is what I call intuitive cooking, my friends. One doesn’t always require a pre-planned menu and recipes to cook delicious, healthy meals at home. Cooking is more fun when give yourself the freedom to invent it as you go, don’t you agree?