Today I am celebrating zucchini, this vegetable that is quite considered ordinary, with not a lot of character. It’s its day of glory (son jour de gloire) and it’s well deserved. By dressing it up a bit, you can make delightful little meals with it. Zucchini is naturally bland, so like any other bland ingredient, it absorbs the flavor of whatever you are combining it with.

I love the simplicity of this dish, yet with character. Thinking about it, I love simple things with character and that is true for people I like in general too. In my opinion is if you add too many powerful ingredients to a dish, it tends to lose the true nature of its key ingredient, then it’s confusion for your palate.

The interesting part of this dish is that you have cooked zucchini in small pieces in the farro, then puree zucchini which has such a velvety texture, then raw and marinated zucchini for a more crunchy bite. I love all the contrasts you get with these three kinds of preparations.

As far as farro is concerned, I used Italian farro instead of the domestic one. I find it easier to cook, and it remains a little softer. You can substitute barley to farro. If you want to keep it vegan, don’t add the parmesan.

For 4 people

For the cream of zucchini

Cook zucchini in vegetable broth until tender. Add thyme and cook for an extra 5 minutes. Adjust with salt and pepper. Blend in mixer and add more broth if it’s too thick.

For the farro

• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 zucchini, finely diced
• 1 handful of shitakee, chopped
• 3 tbs peas
• 2 tbs dry white wine
• salt and pepper

For the cream of zucchini

• 1/2 cup of vegetable broth
• 4 zucchini, peeled and cut in pieces
• 1 tsp fresh thyme
• salt and pepper

For the zucchini ribbons

• 1 zucchini
• 1 tsp olive oil
• juice of 1 meyer lemon
• 1 tbs basil, finely chopped
• salt and pepper
• shaved parmesan

Preparation

For the zucchini ribbons

Using a potato peeler, form stripes going from one end of the zucchini to the other end. Place in a bowl and add olive oil, lemon juice and basil. Marinate for about one hour. When ready to use, add salt and pepper.

For the cream of zucchini

Cook zucchini in vegetable broth until tender. Add thyme and cook for an extra 5 minutes. Adjust with salt and pepper. Blend in mixer and add more broth if it’s too thick.

For the farro

Cook farro in vegetable broth until cooked. Drain and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a pan. Add shallots and onions and let cook a few minutes until fragrant. Add zucchini, mushrooms and peas. Adjust with salt and pepper. Cover with lid and cook until the vegetables are soft. Add farro to the vegetable mixture. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add 2-3 tbs of cream of zucchini, mix well and keep warm.

In a plate, using a rind, place some cream of zucchini first around the rind. Then add a few tbs of farro in the rind. Pressing so that the shape does not collapse. Add zucchini ribbons on top with shaved parmesan.

Gamberi in coperta verde – “Farrotto” verde, con gamberi ai porri, funghi e sugo di basilico

I always remember “Riso verde” green risotto I used to eat in Italy anytime I went there to spend the summer. It’s basically risotto with spinach, parmesan and panna (panna is the Italian cream but unavailable in the US) – spinach are so thinnly blended that the rice has a beautiful green color.

I wanted to make something similar with farro but less heavy, so I didn’t add any cream. The basil jus (what is jus in English anyway? juice?) enhances the whole dish without adding too many flavors. The leek wrapping the shrimps gives a perfect touch and wholesome little dinner meal.

Farrotto is farro that has been prepared and cooked like risotto, can be orzotto, or whatever grain you want to use. I think barley would work as well.

I love this dish, and will certainly make it more often. What I love the most is its delicate and wonderful flavors blending all together, its lightness and hearty beautiful green colors. I love everything about it.

Ingredients for 4

• 2 cups farro (spelt)
• 1 large shallot, chopped
• 1/2 lb spinach (fresh or frozen)
• 1/2 cup whit wine
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1 lbs oyster mushrooms
• 2 garlic cloves
• 10 large uncooked shrimps
• 2 large leeks
• 1 bunch basil
• 3 tbs parmiggiano reggiano, freshly grated
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Start making the farro risotto (I call it farrotto). Heat olive oil in a pot, brown shallots, add farro, stir and coat farro with oil. Add a little wine and a little broth and cook always stirring to not let it stick to the bottom of the pot. Add salt and pepper.

Cook spinach in boiling water for about 5 minutes. Drain and squeeze excess water. Chop very finely to make it into a purée.

When the farro is cooked, add spinach, stir well, and add parmesan cheese.

Saute oyster mushrooms in olive oil, add salt and pepper, let water evaporate. Add crushed garlic at the end. Stir for another 5 minutes to make garlic flavor come out.

For the basil jus, bring 1/2 cup of broth to a boil, add basil and cook for 30 seconds, remove from the pot and pat dry. In a blender, mix basil with broth to make it into a very fine mixture. Remove from blender into a bowl, add 1 tbs olive oil, 1 tsp lemon juice, salt and pepper if needed.

For the shrimps, cut the top hard part of the leeks. Separate carefully each leave from one another and cut in half, you should get about a piece that is 1 1/2 inch wide and 4 or 5 inches long. Bring water to a boil and cook leeks in water for about 1 minute. Drain and pat dry. Add salt and pepper to shrimps and wrap them in each piece of leek.

Saute shrimps in olive oil at medium heat until they’re cooked, brown the outside.

Set the plate. First place a nice quantity of farrotto in the middle of the plate making a timballe (a round little cone) . Add some mushrooms around the farro. Place two shrimps on top and place 2 at the bottom. Sprinkle shrimps and mushrooms with basil jus.