ONE GRAIN, TWO MEALS

Farro is an ancient Tuscan grain. It is a whole grain that packs a bunch of fiber, protein and B vitamins. Over the lat few years, it has become pretty popular, turning up on menus in restaurants and for sale not only in specialty shops but in Whole Foods too. I love farro and use it often. A couple of years ago I went on a farro hoarding spree. Don't ask me why, but I was convinced that I wouldn't be able to find it, so when I did, I bought lots of it. I was down to the last package and no longer fearful of being unable to find it when I prepared these two dishes.

A tip I learned from Heidi Swanson is that you can freeze grains! What a time saving tip. I prepared the whole package, used part of it in a Tuscan inspired mushroom soup, then I froze the rest and a few days later used it as the basis for a pilaf type side dish to go with my Tuscan grilled chicken. Can you tell I have Tuscany on the brain? It's been a year since I first went to Italy and am longing to go back.

For the pilaf, I just sauteed some garlic and red pepper flakes in some olive oil, added some quartered mushrooms and cooked until they were golden, then added some chopped mustard greens and the cooked farro. Sauté until the greens are wilted. Season with salt and pepper and a drizzle of good, fruity olive oil and serve. I topped this with a whole grilled chicken.

Tuscan Mushroom Soup
1 four ounce package dried mushrooms
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, finely diced
1 rib celery, finely diced
1 sprig sage, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup lentils (beluga or green-not red or orange)
1 four quart container chicken stock (or homemade)
1 small bunch kale (chard, spinach, dandelion or any dark green will suffice), chiffonade
olive oil
salt and red pepper flakes
1 1/2-2 cups farro, cooked according to package directions

Put the dried mushrooms in a bowl and cover with boiling water to reconstitute. Set aside for 20 minutes or until soft. Remove mushrooms from water and set the water aside for later. Thinly slice the mushrooms and set aside.

In a large sauce pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery to the pan. Sweat the vegetables until soft, then add the garlic, lentils, sage and red pepper flakes to taste. Add the mushrooms to the pan, then add stock and reserved mushroom liquid. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until lentils are cooked then add farro and kale. Cook until kale is wilted. Adjust seasoning and serve topped with parmesan shavings.

LENTIL STEW

Now that I have a lot of free time on my hands, I have been cooking up a storm-you will soon see. Yesterday, I made a batch of lentil stew. This was something my mom always gave me as a kid, it is my comfort food. My version uses beluga lentils, the "caviar of lentils" they are called, presumably because they look like caviar, but you can use any lentil here. One thing to note, is that if you use the red or golden lentils, they will not retain their shape, but rather soften and become mushy. I guess "mushy" isn't the best word, but I think you get the idea of what their end result is. My husband, the self proclaimed "salad dodger" and "bean banisher" likes it.

Of course, I added a bunch of vegetables to the stew to boost up the nutrients. You can play around with the basic recipe and add whatever you have on hand. I added some red pepper flakes and chipotle chile puree to give it a kick.

Lentil Stew
2 carrots, finely diced (keep in mind the size of the lentils as you chop-you don't want teeny lentils and giant carrot hunks)
1 large celery rib, diced (see above)
1 medium onion, diced (I didn't have an onion so I used a couple of shallots)
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 cup beluga lentils
4 cups water or stock
1 bunch dandelion greens, chopped
1 12 ounce can of tomatoes (I like the diced fire roasted for this dish)
a couple of swigs of extra virgin olive oil (will not say or write EVOO)
Salt & Pepper

Place a large sauce pan over medium heat. After a minute, add the oil, then add the mirepoix (carrots, celery, onions) and sweat until soft but do not color the veg. If they start to color, turn down the heat. After about 5 minutes or so (depending on the size of your cut veg), add the chopped garlic, making sure it doesn't burn. Add the lentils and stir to coat with the oil and then add in your stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer. Cook until lentils are soft, then add tomatoes and dandelion greens. Season with salt and pepper.

COCONUT RED LENTIL SOUP

Tomorrow, I am cooking for one of my clients and I have decided to make the same dish, lamb kebabs, for us, but that still left me with nothing for tonight. After consulting with one of my favorite websites, http://www.101cookbooks.com, I decided to give this version of lentil soup a try. I love lentil soup, but this is much better than the can of Progresso that I ate as a kid. I have a similar recipe of my own, but tonight I veered off course a little.

I knew that I had lentils of every variety in my cupboard, so this was a perfect recipe. If you do not have lentils in your cupboard, you should go and get some. They are the perfect staple because they cook quickly, are really versatile and their most delightful feature is that they're cheap. Another thing about the good ol' lentil is that they are full of great nutrients, B vitamins, minerals and fiber. I promise you, you are not getting enough fiber. So stock up on lentils and start cooking!

Oh wait, just a few more things, speaking of nutrients. Ginger and the spices that go into curry powder are anti-inflammatory as well as anti-carcinogens. Coconut milk is an ingredient that I am in love with. Stay away from the low fat version, the fat is the most important part. It is also anti-inflammatory and a great source of energy.

COCONUT RED LENTIL SOUP
Heidi Swanson

1 cup / 7 oz / 200g yellow split peas
1 cup 7 oz / 200g red split lentils (masoor dal)
7 cups / 1.6 liters water
1 medium carrot, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 tablespoons fresh peeled and minced ginger
2 tablespoons curry powder
2 tablespoons butter or ghee
8 green onions (scallions), thinly sliced
1/3 cup / 1.5 oz / 45g golden raisins
1/3 / 80 ml cup tomato paste
1 14-ounce can coconut milk
2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
one small handful cilantro, chopped

cooked brown rice or farro, for serving (optional)

Give the split peas and lentils a good rinse - until they no longer put off murky water. Place them in an extra-large soup pot, cover with the water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and add the carrot and 1/4 of the ginger. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the split peas are soft.

In the meantime, in a small dry skillet or saucepan over low heat, toast the curry powder until it is quite fragrant. Be careful though, you don't want to burn the curry powder, just toast it. Set aside. Place the butter in a pan over medium heat, add half of the green onions, the remaining ginger, and raisins. Saute for two minutes stirring constantly, then add the tomato paste and saute for another minute or two more.

Add the toasted curry powder to the tomato paste mixture, mix well, and then add this to the simmering soup along with the coconut milk and salt. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes or so. The texture should thicken up, but you can play around with the consistency if you like by adding more water, a bit at a time, if you like. Or simmer longer for a thicker consistency. The thicker this soup got, the more I liked it.

Serves 6.