Baked Farro With Tomatoes and Herbs from Veganomicon

This easy-to-make casserole of Baked Farro With Tomatoes and Herbs is from Veganomicon, 10th Anniversary Edition by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero, and it may end up being your new favorite comfort food dish!

The world was a very different place for vegans in 2007. Most restaurants were not even close to being vegan friendly, the only dairy-free vegan cheese on the market resembled a large crayon, and coffee shop baristas wouldn’t even know what you were talking about if you asked for almond milk in your coffee. Vegan recipes could be difficult to come by, too. There were only a couple of vegan blogs online and the shelves at Barnes and Nobel only housed a few vegan cookbooks. And then, Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero came to the rescue of vegans who afraid of being doomed to a future of tasteless tofu burgers and limp iceberg lettuce salad with their cookbook Veganomicon.

Veganomicon to the Rescue

With than 250 recipes, Veganomicon was an absolute masterpiece of deliciousness. The recipes were creative and flavorful, and the book was chock-full of cooking tips and tricks. Isa and Terry both have a great sense of humor, which shines through in their writing and makes cooking their recipes that much more fun.

Veganomicon was given to me as a secret Santa gift by one of my coworkers at time (thank you, Vanessa!), and I dug in with gusto as soon as the office Christmas party was over. I was soon whipping up batches of Pineapple-Cashew-Quinoa Stir-Fry, making my own Chickpea Cutlets, and serving up cozy bowls of cheesy Mac Daddy.

The vegan world has changed a lot in the past ten years. It’s easy to find vegan options when dining out, delicious dairy-free cheeses abound, and most coffee shops have several plant-based milks to choose from. Vegan blogs abound, and my Ikea Billy bookcases are beginning to buckle under the weight of my vast vegan cookbook collection, most of which are beautifully designed and full of mouthwatering photography. Veganomicon has changed, too. Isa and Terry have just released a shiny, new, revised and updated 10^th anniversary edition, and they’ve someone managed to make it even better than the first.

Veganomicon, 10th Anniversary Edition

Veganomicon, 10th Anniversary Edition: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook contains all of my favorites from the original book, including Chile Cornmeal Crusted Po’ Boy sandwiches, Snobby Joes, Pumpkin Baked Ziti with Caramelized Onions and Sage Crumb Topping, and Smlove Pie. It has new recipes that reflect current food trends, too, such the Kale Tahini Caesar Salad and Little Maple Breakfast Sausages. The book’s pages have been given a makeover with a beautiful, clean layout and gorgeous, drool-worthy photography.

Veganomicon, 10th Anniversary Edition is full of handy information, including lists of foods to keep stocked in your pantry and kitchen equipment. Cooking terminology is explained, knife skill tips are given, and there’s even advice for keeping your cutting board from slipping. With a plethora of information on how to cook various vegetables, beans, and grains, this book is indispensible in the kitchen.

I’m looking forward to making my old standbys and discovering new favorites in Veganomicon, 10th Anniversary Edition.

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Baked Farro with Tomatoes and Herbs

Rich and cheesy tasting without a lick of cheese (and with plenty of nutritional yeast), this comforting and easy tomato and herb-drenched baked farro casserole may bump your favorite pasta bake down a notch or two. Farro is a rustic, chewy variety of whole-kernel wheat rich in protein and fiber, and usually stocked in nice groceries with other heirloom grains, such as quinoa, or look wherever Mediterranean pastas and rices are sold.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Author Dianne

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups uncooked farro
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup finely chopped shallot 1 bay leaf
• 2 cups vegetable broth or water
• 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, with juices (do not drain)
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme or basil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt or more to taste
• 1/2 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley or fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

Topping:

• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

2. Sort through the farro to remove any broken grains and rinse in a colander. In a large saucepan over medium, sauté the garlic and shallot in 1 tablespoon of olive oil for 2 minutes to soften the shallot. Stir in the farro and the bay leaf and sauté for another minute, then pour in the vegetable broth and the tomatoes. Increase the heat to high and bring to a rapid simmer. Cook for about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and add oregano, thyme, and salt. Remove bay leaf. Taste and season with a little more salt, if desired (if using water, you may want to), then stir in the parsley and nutritional yeast.

3. Pour the farro mixture into the prepared baking dish and smooth the top. Cover tightly with foil and bake for about 40 minutes, or until the farro has absorbed almost all of the liquid.

4. Pulse together the topping ingredients, except the olive oil, in a food processor (or pound with a mortar and pestle) into coarse crumbs. Take the casserole out of the oven, remove the foil, and cover the top evenly with the walnut topping. Drizzle those 2 tablespoons of olive oil on top and bake for 10 minutes to lightly brown the top of the casserole. For best results, allow the farro to sit for 10 minutes to cool slightly and firm up a bit. Serve warm; this casserole tastes even better the next day after the flavors have blended a bit more.

Recipe Notes

Tip: For a casserole with a more delicate texture, use pureed tomatoes in place of diced tomatoes.

Excerpted from Veganomicon, 10th Anniversary Edition: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. Copyright © 2017. Available from Da Capo Lifelong Books, an imprint of Perseus Books, LLC, a subsidiary of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

Other delicious recipes from Isa and Terry include:

• Brussel Sprout Fried Rice
• Baked Veggie Pan Omelet
• Asparagus Pad Thai Salad

I have a copy of Veganomicon, 10th Anniversary Edition for one lucky winner. Follow the instructions below to enter. U.S. and Canadian residents only, please. Contest ends at midnight on December 17th. Good luck!

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