Roast Carrots with Farro and Goat Cheese

I love goat cheese. There is not much that can’t be improved with a bit of goat cheese on top, at least in my opinion. This recipe uses thinned goat cheese as a sauce for slowly roast carrots and farro.

I got the idea for this recipe from one on the blog My Kitchen Stories. On her blog, Tania suggests using cooked Buckwheat in place of the farro. If you want this to be gluten free, it would be a good substitution. I used farro (which is made from a wheat grain) as I had a package in the pantry. The oven was already on; I was slow roasting some lamb shanks at 300 degrees F for 6 hours. I decided to pop the carrots in the oven with the lamb to roast slowly.

This would be a wonderful vegetarian meal on it’s own, gluten free if you substituted Buckwheat or another grain for the Farro.

Roast carrots with farro and goat cheese

Roast Carrots with Farro and Goat Cheese (serves 2-4)

•  1 cup (8 oz) of soft goat cheese
• 3 tablespoons of buttermilk
• 1 cup of cooked Farro
• 2 bunches of baby carrots, peeled
• 4 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• Grated rind of one lemon
• 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
• Garnish – parsley or cilantro or pomegranate seeds (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (if not already on at another temperature). Mine was at 300 degrees F, you could go as high as 400 F. The cooking times would be shorter.

Most of this could be done ahead, reheat and assemble at serving time. It would also be good at room temperature. In that case I recommend you be more aggressive with your dressing of the grain. Maybe a bit of mustard, more vinegar and oil.

Cook the farro.

1. Rinse the farro in a strainer, then cover with about 2 inches of water in a saucepan.
2. Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about 25 minutes until cooked.
3. Drain the farro and set aside until ready to assemble (if serving at room temperature, toss the farro with oil and vinegar, a bit of Dijon mustard, taste for salt).

Prepare the sauce by mixing the buttermilk with the goat cheese until it is softly spreadable. Place in the refrigerator until you are ready to assemble.

Carrots

Cook the carrots

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet.
2. When hot, add the carrots and sauté on medium-high heat until browned in spots.
3. Sprinkle the carrots with salt, grated lemon rind, and cumin; stir gently to mix
4. Transfer the carrots to the oven (still in the skillet or on a baking sheet) and cook for about an hour at 300 degrees F, shorter if your oven is higher
5. When done to your liking, transfer the carrots to a plate to cool slightly

Assemble the dish

1. Add the final 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the same skillet you used for the carrots
2. When hot, add the drained farro and rewarm
3. Sprinkle with the balsamic vinegar, taste for salt
4. Spread the goat cheese mixture on one side of the plate
5. Lay the carrots over the goat cheese
6. Spread the farro on the other side of your platter
7. Garnish with chopped cilantro and pomegranate seeds