For the past couple weeks on social I’ve been talking a lot about the power of side dishes when it comes to vegetarian, vegan and plant-based eating. Even before I knew my fate as a vegetarian, or even understood what it was, I often preferred to leave out the main course and opt for a plate full of side dishes instead. Now that I’ve fully embraced my plant-forward sensibility, I appreciate side dishes so much and I have a lot of fun experimenting with vegetable and grain-based dishes, making them as good as, if not better than the main course.
As a personal chef, my standard service offers 3 entrees and 3 side dishes in a single session, and when the client is a meat eater, the side dishes are where I can really make vegetables shine, without using meat, or even dairy. This is one of those vegan-friendly sides that I developed for a meat eating client and then had to make for myself soon after, because it was so good. I took inspo from the client’s main dish too – saucy verde shredded chicken – and made saucy verde white beans to go with my farro. Served with corn tortillas, smashed avo, marinated grape tomatoes and roasted red onions, it was a dreamy plant-based meal that any eater would love.
Creamy Poblano Farro with Cilantro
serves 4-6
Ingredients
1.5 cups dry farro
3/4 to 1 lb poblano peppers
2-3 shallots
2/3 cup raw cashews
chipotle powder or chili powder*
zest of 1 lime
1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, to taste
1/2 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves and tender upper stems
To Make
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Cook farro according to package instructions, in salted water, until tender. Drain, allow to cool.
Remove poblano seeds and cut into very large bite size pieces. Transfer to a lined baking sheet, toss with 1 tsp olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Arrange on one side of baking sheet in slightly overlapping layer. Peel and roughly chop shallots into large pieces. Transfer to the opposite side of the baking sheet. Toss with 1/2 tsp olive oil and a 1/4 tsp salt. Separate layers as you toss and arrange in an overlapping pile.
Bake poblanos and shallot for 15 minutes. Allow to cool.
Blend shallots with cashews, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 2/3 cup water until super smooth. Add lime juice, zest, cilantro and either 1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder or a 1/2 teaspoon chili powder. Pulse until cilantro is finely chopped and the cream is a light green color.
Combine cooked, drained and slightly cooled farro with the creamy sauce and the roasted poblanos. Season with salt to taste. Garnish with chili powder or chipotle powder, lime zest and/or cilantro.
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