This farro with cuttlefish ink is a variation on the much better known risotto with squid ink. It's from the Abruzzo region, and more specifically the Locanda dell'Arte in Cittá Sant'Angelo. The recipe calls for pearled farro; if you cannot find it use whatever farro, spelt or emmer that you can find. To serve 4 you'll need:
Prep Time: 60 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes
Ingredients:
- 4 quarts fish broth
- 2.2 pounds (1 k) cuttlefish (or squid), with ink sacks
- 12 ounces (300 g) pearled farro
- 2 onions
- 2 cloves garlic
- A handful of parsley
- A bunch of rucola (arugola)
- 4 ounces (100 g) cooked corn
- A few tablespoons tomato sauce
- Hot pepper
- 2 cups dry white wine
- Olive oil
- Salt
Preparation:
Prepare the broth. Clean the squid, being careful not to break the ink sacks as you remove them, and chop the squid into small pieces. Chop one of the onions and brown it in a pot, and when it has turned golden add the chopped squid and cook it slowly with a cup of wine; when it is done (the pieces will be quite fork tender, about 45 minutes) dust it with half the parsley, minced.While the squid is cooking, chop and brown the remaining onion in another pot, stir in the farro, and brown it too, then stir in the remaining wine, and once it has evaporated the fish broth a bit at a time, until the farro is cooked.
When the farro is dome mix 3/4 of the squid into it, together with the ink from the ink sacks and the tomato sauce. Mix well and transfer the mixture to a serving dish. Sprinkle the cooked corn around the farro as a decoration and sprinkle the remaining squid over the farro. Mince the remaining parsley and the rucola, dust the dish with them, and serve.
The wine? A rich Trebbiano from the Abruzzo region would be nice, as would a Verdicchio di Matelica.
