Roasted squash+ farro+ whipped goat cheese+ hazelnuts+ watercress
For 4 Servings.
2 cups cooked Farro
1 large butternut squash, cut into ½ inch cubes and roasted
1/2 cup whipped goat cheese
1/4 cup toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
2 cups cleaned watercress, rinsed and dried
1 cup apple cider vinaigrette
2 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper to taste
To cook farro: Start out with 1 liter of water and 1 liter of apple cider. Season water with salt until lightly seasoned. Bring farro to a boil from cold and cook for about 20 minutes until the farro has bloomed and is slightly al dente. Drain and chill faro.
To make whipped goat cheese: In a food processor combine goat cheese, salt and pepper along with 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and pulse till the goat cheese smoothes out slightly.Be careful not to overwhip the goat cheese or it will become watery
To make vinaigrette:
1 gallon of apple cider, reduced down to 2 cups
1 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper
In a large bowl combine apple cider reduction, balsamic vinegar and seasonings, whisk to combine. While continually whisking drizzle in oil to emulsify, resulting vinaigrette should be smooth and slightly thick. This recipe makes roughly 1 quart of vinaigrette.
Melt butter in a large saute pan until it begins to lightly brown. Add in the squash and saute for 1 minute to reheat and lightly color. Add in the hazelnuts along with a touch of olive oil to stop the browning of the butter. Add in the farro and saute another minute or so to merry all the flavors. Deglaze pan with 2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette and season.
Spread the whipped goat cheese on the bottom of warm plates in a round shape. Mound the farro and squash mixture in the center of the plates. Toss water cress with vinaigrette just to coat leaves, don't overdress and season. Top warm farro with water cress and drizzle more vinaigrette around plate for serving.
