Farro e Pepe

This recipe was adapted by Izzy Pezzulo from the Samin Nosrat’s recipe in the NYT cooking column. Also read Nosrat’s article about the making of the dish.

Note: combinations of hard cheeses are fair game here. Try substituting some or all of the pecorino with parmigiana, or even aged cheddar.

INGREDIENTS

  • Ample sea salt

  • 2 cups Sungold Spelt Farro Grande

  • 1 1/2 cups (7 1/2 ounces) Pecorino Romano, finely grated

  • 1 1/4 teaspoons coarsely grated black pepper, plus more for serving

  • 1/4 cup cold water, plus more if needed

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and season with salt until it is as salty as the sea. Add farro grande, and cook until al dente (our farro takes about 30-45 minutes, which is more than pearled farro medio). If you’d like, you can presoak the farro grande overnight to shorten the cook time.

  2. While you’re waiting on the farro, grate your pecorino into a medium bowl, and add 1/4 cup of cold water. Use an immersion blender to combine into a thick, smooth paste. Add more cold water, teaspoon by teaspoon, to encourage blending. If you don’t have an immersion blender, feel free to use a food processor, or whisk it yourself (this will be easier if you grate the cheese on a microplane.)

  3. Drain the farro, making sure to reserve 1 1/2 cups of the cooking water. Return farro to the pot. Add 3/4 cup of pecorino paste and 1/2 cup of the cooking water, and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the farro is coated with a glossy sheen. Add more pecorino paste and more cooking water until you have the desired consistency, similar to a loose risotto. If farro seems properly seasoned but too thick, add warm tap water instead of the salted cooking water.

  4. Serve immediate, with more cracked black pepper. Cover and save any remaining pecorino paste; it is excellent with pasta, on toast, or added into grits.