Farro con Pollo

Serves: 4 people
Hands-on time: 40 min
Total time: 40 min

This recipe was adapted from a Bobby Flay Fit recipe called “Quinoa con Pollo with Peas and Green Olives.”  It took me a ridiculously long time to make (ok, I admit it, it was 2 hours, ugh) but was absolutely delicious.  It was worth spending the time figuring out how to get it down to a 40-minute recipe.  If you have the chicken already pre-made from a previous night’s meal you can shave another 10 minutes off of the hands-on time.

Given that it’s winter, I opted for the meatier toothiness of farro instead of the more delicately textured quinoa. That turned out to be a great adaptation because the meal is very flavorful and the farro holds its own better than I think the quinoa would have.

Ingredients

To make the chicken you’ll need:

• 1-1/4 lbs chicken breast
• 1-1/2 T adobo seasoning (buy or make your own)

Note: Double the above amounts to make extra, and save half for another day.

To make the farro, you’ll need:

• 2 T olive oil
• 1 yellow onion
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 jalapeno pepper
• 2 C chicken stock
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 C farro
• 1 bay leaf

Optional garnish:

• fresh parsley
• fresh cilantro
• green olives

Tools

• 1 medium sharp knife
• 1 mandolin (which saves a ton of time but if you don’t have one just use a knife)
• 1 cutting board
• 12″ skillet
• medium sauce pan
• A basic mixing bowl
• spatula
• roasting pan or cookie sheet
• 1-cup liquid measuring cup
• 1-cup dry measuring cup
• measuring spoons

Directions

[See pictures below.]

1. Season chicken with adobo seasoning, place on cookie sheet or roasting pan, and turn the oven to preheat at 400F.  When preheated put chicken in oven and set timer for 15 minutes.  When timer goes off, turn chicken over and roast for another 10 minutes.  Check for doneness and remove from oven.
2. In the meantime… heat stock in medium saucepan until it comes to boiling.  Add farro, reduce heat, cover and cook as directed on package.
3. Trim and deseed peppers and slice with mandolin.  If using knife, cut into thin strips.  Here’s a great video on the easiest way to trim bell peppers.
4. Cut onion in half and remove ends and peel.  Slice with mandolin and add to the pile of peppers. That mixing bowl listed in the tools section comes in handy here.
5. Add olive oil to skillet and heat over medium high for a few minutes.  When hot, add peppers and onions an saute for 5-8 minutes until tender.  Remove from heat.
6. If you are using the optional garnish, now would be a good time to chop up the olives, parsley and/or cilantro.
7. When farro is done, combine sauteed vegetables with farro.
8. Slice chicken into strips about 1/2″ or so, against  the grain (crosswise).
9. On each plate, spoon a helping of farro and place several strips of chicken on top.  Top with garnish if using.

Tips and Timesavers

• Get pre-sliced veggies from the supermarket.
• Make the farro up to four days in advance.
• Make the chicken up to four days in advance.

Nutrition (g)

Photos

Step 1

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