Farro spezzato con pomodori e ricotta - Broken Farro with Tomatoes and Ricotta

Our eating has changed in the last few years. Today we all eat less than we used to and we tend to eat more vegetables, cereal and pulses, mixing them together in many different ways. Vegetable dishes become main courses at home and in the restaurants,  but we often lack of ideas.  

Here I create a Mediterranean salad with San Marzano tomatoes, quickly baked in the oven, fresh ricotta, capers in salt, anchovies, olives  and basil. But my hero is a new Italian ingredient: the broken farro /farro spezzato. 

Farro spezzato/broken farro has the shape of cous cous but the consistency of bulgur. It comes from farro, the  grain the ancient Romans plenty used in their cuisine.  Rich in proteins and fibres, farro is quite trendy in the contemporary kitchen. Everybody likes its nutty flavour and crunchy texture. The advantage of the broken farro is that it cooks much quicker than the whole one. It is delicious both, in salads and soups.

Farro spezzato con pomodori e ricotta 
Broken Farro with Tomatoes and Ricotta

200 g broken farro
500 g San Marzano tomatoes
1 tablespoon oregano
250 g ricotta
4 anchovies in oil, chopped
1 tablespoon capers in salt, roughly rinsed
2 tablespoons black olives, pitted
Extra virgin oil
Sea salt

Serves 3 to 4, as a main course
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. Halve the tomatoes, remove the seeds and slice them lengthways (filetti).
3. Arrange the tomatoes over an oven tin. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of oil, sprinkle with oregano and salt and bake for 4 to 5 minutes. 
4. Remove from the oven, leave to cool and peel. The thin skin will come off easily at this stage. Arrange the tomatoes over a serving dish.
5. In the meantime, in a pan, cover the broken farro with plenty of cold water. Bring it to the boil, add a generous pinch of salt and leave to simmer for 8 to 10 minutes. Taste it: it must be cooked but still crunchy.
6. Drain farro and place it over the tomatoes.
7. Sprinkle the ricotta, the anchovies, the capers, the olives and the basil over the farro and dress with olive oil.
8. Serve tepid.