Conquering Kale Part 2 (Braised Kale with Farro, Gruyere, Parmesan)

I'm lovin it (the it being kale, my new favorite vegetable).  After last week's success with this nutritional powerhouse, I decided to make another kale dish.  I promised a dish by Dan Barber, the chef at the Stone Barns at Blue Hill, where I enjoyed a creamy, salty, tangy, soft-boiled egg drizzled with a pancetta vinaigrette, placed on a nest of arugula.  It was an amazing egg.  So, after searching for kale on the internets, I was pleased to find a recipe for melted kale and farro by Mr. Barber.

 

I had some farro on hand that I've been waiting to try out.  I've never cooked with farro, but I've been thinking about it ever since I had a dish of farro, artichokes, and parmesan at Perilla. Farro has a texture similar to wheat berries, and as far as I can tell tastes great with cheese.  

I was ready to go and then I read the recipe all the way through.  Barber's recipe called for pureeing the kale in a food processor.  What?  Why would I want to turn my lovely kale into baby food? Turns out, I'm not the only one who had this reaction.  

 

So I did what any good food blogger would: I improvised.   I made the farro, added some parmesan, gruyere, and chives...

 

...braised the kale with chicken stock, sauteed onions, and shallots; then added a little sherry vinegar for acid.  (Don't you love how I'm all, oh, I need to add an acid; it tastes flat without it.  Guess where I learned that?  Top Chef).  Then I spooned the kale out and mixed it with the farro.  It was very a good supper. I really like the texture of farro and kale, and the cheese added enough fat and flavor to make the dish taste great.  

Braised Kale with Farro and Parmesan

1 head of kale (remove ribs and chop into 1 inch strips)
1 cup of farro 
handful of chopped chives
 1/2 cup parmesan reggiano
 1/2 cup Gruyere cheese
 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
 1 tablespoon olive oil
 2 shallots, diced (or a medium red onion)
 2 cups chicken stock

Directions

1.  Prepare farro according to package directions (I had to soak mine for 25 minutes, but apparently you can buy farro that does not need soaking prior to cooking)

2.  Once farro is done, add cheese, chives, and combine.

3.  Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat; add the shallots or onion and saute until soft, about 3 minutes.  Add kale and chicken stock.  Increase heat to high and saute for 2 minutes.   Reduce the heat and simmer until kale is tender and almost all the broth is absorbed, stirring often, about 20 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Finish with vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon out kale (leaving any remaining liquid behind in the pan) and serve over farro.  Garnish with chives and more parmesan if you like.