INSTANT POT MEDITERRANEAN FARRO

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If you love Mediterranean inspired food, this will hit the spot.  For those of you wondering what farro is, it is a whole grain wheat, similar to a wheat berry or barley.  It has a nice hearty texture to it.  I love this combination of flavors and textures, and it's a great filling option, especially if you are looking for a meatless meal option.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 tbsp olive oil or avocado oil
  • 1 bulb of fennel, thinly sliced
  • 1 small/medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
  • 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 4 cups of water
  • 1 tbsp Better Than Bouillon vegetable base (can also use chicken base)
  • 2 cups of rinsed pearled farro
  • 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped (dry, not marinated in oil)
  • 1 cup of artichoke hearts in water, drained and roughly chopped
  • 1/3 cup of fresh basil, chopped
  • 1/2 cup pine nuts
  • sea salt and black pepper to taste
  • parmesan cheese, shredded or grated

 

DIRECTIONS

  1. Add the bouillon base to the water and stir, and set aside.
  2. Set your Instant Pot to the Saute setting, high heat, and let it heat up.  Once heated, add the oil.  Adding the oil after heating helps make the stainless steel surface more non-stick.
  3. Add the fennel and onion to the pot with a light sprinkling of sea salt and saute, stirring regularly, until translucent.  Then add the garlic and continue to saute for another minute or two until the garlic becomes aromatic.
  4. Deglaze the pot with a little bit of the water mixture, and stir to make sure none of the onions and fennel are stuck to the bottom of the pot.
  5. Add the farro and sun dried tomatoes to the pot on top of the fennel and onions
  6. Add the remaining water mixture to the pot.
  7. Close the lid and make sure it is sealed and that the steam release valve is set to sealed.
  8. Select Manual/Pressure on the Instant Pot, high heat, and set to 10 minutes.  Press start.
  9. After the pot has completed the 10 minute pressure cook cycle and beeped, let the pot sit for 5 minutes on the Warm/Keep Warm setting (5 minutes natural pressure release (NPR)).  Once the 5 minutes is up, move the steam release valve to open to release the remaining steam (quick release (QR).
  10. Once the steam has stopped releasing from the valve, carefully open the lid, making sure to open it away from your face.
  11. Stir the farro to mix in any water that may be remaining (it will thicken).
  12. Stir in the artichoke hearts, basil, and pine nuts.
  13. Add salt and pepper to taste, if needed.
  14. Serve and top with a little Parmesan cheese.  Enjoy!

If you are on a vegan diet, you can easily omit the Parmesan cheese.