Chicken & Pea Farrotto With Braised Gem Lettuce

What’s In A Name?

Risotto – pronounced [ɾiˈzɔtːo]

a classic Italian dish of rice cooked in wine and stock to a naturally creamy consistency; traditionally made with high-starch, short grain rice varieties; the grains are usually toasted in butter and oil before liquid is added gradually; to finish finely grated parmesan cheese is stirred in

Rice is the key to risotto really; it’s in the name and everything…

Riso is rice. And -tto is, well, the rest of it!

But recently we made a delicious risotto-like dish using pearl spelt. Can’t call that risotto!

Sharpham Park call their pearl spelt products speltotto but I like the idea of sticking to an Italianate name and have plumped for farrotto.

 

About Spelt

When Sharpham Park asked me if we’d like to try their spelt products, it was initially the spelt flour that drew me to say yes. Pete is a great baker and has been baking ever better bread since we went on the Tom Herbert course earlier this year. The first spelt bread he made on receiving the Sharpham Park samples was a little heavy but with nice flavour.

Contrary to claims by some, spelt doesn’t have less gluten than wheat flour however the protein within spelt does have a different molecular structure; it is shorter than in other cultivated wheat species. That’s said to make it easier for the human digestive system to break down, but I’ve not seen any scientific studies proving this. (I recommend that you get advice from your doctor or professional dietician before trying spelt, if other forms of flour are a problem for you).

Those same properties mean you can’t knead it as hard nor create as stretchy a dough. And it also has a lower absorption rate, meaning it needs less water to be added to achieve a workable dough. All this means that bakers must work differently when baking with spelt. Since his first attempt, Pete’s been working on adapting his recipes, kneading and proving times to suit spelt flour.

Spelt is an ancient species of wheat. During the bronze age, it spread widely across Europe and was an important staple through to medieval times.

Reading about the evolution of spelt is fascinating, not least because of a parallel speciation theory that the hybridisation between domesticated wheat and wild goatgrasses that created spelt may have happened not once but twice, independently in Asia and in Europe. Alternate theory states that spelt developed just once in the Middle East and was spread East and West to Europe and Asia by human cultivation.

Spelt fell out of favour because it has a tough, thick husk surrounding the kernel which makes it harder to separate the husk from the grain. It also has a lower yield per acre than newer varieties.

But it survived as a relict crop in northern Spain and central Europe (and also in the wild, I would imagine).

More recently, there has been a renewed interest in spelt for a number of different reasons.

I’ve already mentioned the increased market for spelt amongst some sufferers of coeliac disease. This is not the only segment of the health food market to show interest. Nutritionists claim that the nutrients in spelt are more “bioavailable”, that is more readily accessed and absorbed by the body during digestion, than in other wheats. Spelt is higher in protein than regular wheat, and is also a good source of zinc, complex B vitamins and riboflavin, the latter considered to reduce the frequency of migraines in sufferers.

The Romans referred to spelt as “Marching Grain” because of its high energy content.

There are also advantages for the farmer. Unlike modern varieties, spelt can grow well on poor soil – sandy or with poor drainage. It also requires less fertiliser than other varieties as its tough husk protects it from insects, which makes it particularly popular with organic farmers. That same tough husk also makes spelt grain more resistant to storage problems.

Chicken & Pea Farrotto With Braised Gem Lettuce

Spelt has a lovely nutty flavour, a little like wild rice. It works really well in a risotto-like dish and the cooking method is the same.

Ingredients

For the farrotto

  • large knob butter
  • 120 g pearled spelt per person
  • 1 handful leftover roast chicken meat per person, chopped
  • 1 small handful peas, chopped mangetout and/or chopped sugarsnap peas per person
  • 500 ml chicken stock per person

For the braised gem lettuce

  • half gem lettuce per person
  • chicken stock to braise

Recipe Notes

Amounts are approximate and can be varied by quite a large amount, according to what you have available. We used a selection of peas, harvested from the garden and leftover meat and stock from the previous night’s meal. The lettuce was also home-grown. Add water to the stock, if you don’t have enough.

Instructions

  • Wash the lettuce, chop the peas and leftover chicken and set aside.

  • Put the stock on to heat.

  • Fry the dry pearled spelt in butter for a couple of minutes, then add the warm stock bit by bit, letting it absorb into the grains before adding more.

  • Whilst the farrotto is cooking, cut the gem lettuces in half along their length, and place in a shallow baking dish. Add stock to come up about half way up the sides of the lettuce and bake in a hot oven for 10-15 minutes.

  • Once the spelt is cooked (soft but not mushy), with a little excess liquid in the pan, tip in the meat and peas and stir through until piping hot. The chicken will absorb the extra liquid and result in a thick, untuous finish.

  • Serve with braised lettuce over each portion.

We absolutely loved the pearled spelt in place of the usual risotto rice and will definitely be making this dish again, as well as other farrotto recipes.

Please leave a comment - I love hearing from you!
9 Comments to "Chicken & Pea Farrotto With Braised Gem Lettuce"

  1. kitchen princess

    Looks delicious, not tried it with braised lettuce. I'd be very interested in the bread recipe experiment, I gave up on pure spelt loaves as they always came out on the heavy side.

    Reply
  2. Kavey

    Kitchen Princess, will have to see if Pete can find a way of making a spelt loaf lighter. In the mean time, can recommend you check out Azelia's Kitchen blog, in my blog roll, her experimentations with different flours and techniques is inspirational!

    Foodycat, it was!

    Reply
  3. Heavenly Housewife

    I haven't really tried many spelt things. I've had some Sharpham park biscuits/cookies, but I wasn't really feeling them. I would like to try using spelt flour in some bread making though, that might be fun.
    I really like the idea of “farroto”
    *kisses* HH

    Reply
  4. Kavey

    HH, I've never tried spelt cookies. It's worth trying spelt flour in bread but, as above, definitely need to experiment and/or find some recipes with detailed instructions, that are specific to the unique properties of spelt flour. It's not like using regular flour. Am sure you'd like farroto, I was worried it'd be pellet-like or more like the texture of bulghar wheat which I don't love… but it was soft and a lot like short-grain rice!!

    Reply
  5. celia

    We adore spelt, but have never tried it in wholegrain form! Pete puts it into his muesli mix,and I bake with it regularly – best bread results I've had have been sourdough and combining it 50/50 with bakers flour.

    Reply
  6. tori

    I love this- we sometimes do a similar thing with scads of chickpeas, garlic, shredded chicken and parsley through it. Like an army, I can march for hours after eating a bowl.

    Reply
  7. Kavey

    Dom, I was surprised at how much I loved it! Let me know what you think?

    Celia, this is the first time we've cooked with any form of spelt…

    Tori, sounds marvellous!

    Reply

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