Slow Roasted Farro

An heirloom variety of spelt wheat, farro is used in Italy as a foundation ingredient in soups, stews, salads, and desserts. The Italians also mix farro with rice—or substitute it for rice altogether. The particular cultivar Anson Mills grows, extra long and possessing superior flavor and a firm al dente character, is associated with ancient Italian varieties, now extinct. From antiquity, all double-hulled wheats (of which farro is one) were threshed by passing shocks of the freshly harvested grain over fire. Anson Mills emulates this threshing process by slow roasting farro, a practice that dramatically increases its aromatic and flavor profile, reduces its cook time, and improves its texture at the table.