Readers of The Bitten Word cooked every recipe in the September 2013 Bon Appetit magazine. Here's their take on Fried Farro with Pickled Carrots and Runny Eggs.
Lara: We loved the earthiness of the mushrooms and faro contrasted with the acidity of the pickled carrots. We are not fans of "runny eggs". So I took one picture with eggs and then scooped them off to serve to my family. A great grainy side dish.
Krista: If you're following Bon Appetit's recipe online, take note: not included in the ingredient list are 2 medium carrots, chopped. Despite the intimidation factor of the pickling, prep and cooking are surprisingly quick and painless. If you're already a fan of grain salads, you'll enjoy it, but if (like me) you're not, don't expect to be converted by this recipe.
Craig: My first time making farro. Like most grains, the farro is really just a vehicle for other flavors. Luckily, one of those flavors for this dish was runny egg! I love runny eggs. On burgers. On pasta. On Mexican. You name it. The dish had some other bold flavors as well to punch up the farro. The mushrooms provided a meaty, earthy note and the carrots and pepper provided some crunch. My special lady friend is no fan of mushrooms, and my kids are picky eaters, so it's not likely I'll make the dish again anytime soon, but it was nice change of pace.
Alix: What a fun challenge! I haven't stuck so closely to a recipe since high school, so it was a good exercise to follow instructions. I did sub out the fish sauce for this vegetarian mock-fish sauce recipe (http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-vegan-fish-sauce-130535), which I think worked pretty well. The meal was delicious! I never would have sought out maitake mushrooms, or used farro or parsley in a fried rice style recipe. One problem with the recipe was that Bon Appetit didn't tell me how many carrots to pickle, so I made a ton. Okay, so that's not really a problem. Yum.
Mark: Locating colatura was a bitch; two Italian import retailers and two paisan wholesalers were clueless. Found it on Amazon.com to the tune of $3.75 per tablespoon. The maitake mushrooms which Whole Foods held for ransom at $1.00 per ounce kept me on track for doing the recipe exactly as written, but not even Whole Paycheck had duck eggs so I had to settle for the free range beauties from a local farm. Bottom line: this dish is phenomenal -- OMG, those pickled carrots are a genius addition!
Get the Fried Farro with Pickled Carrots and Runny Eggs recipe at Bon Appétit
Head back to the Sides Dishes and Condiments