Slaves, Hebrews born to serve to the, um...Farro.

Sorry 'bout the title...Metallica's "Creeping Death" contains the only line I could think of where I could cleverly replace "pharaoh" with "farro." Anyway, fall has officially arrived. Temperatures in the Valley are starting to dip below 100, and the beaches are down to a crisp 75...time to start wearing underwear again (boxer briefs...I know you were wondering).

Having become the Executive Chef of Vegin' Out, I'm needing to test recipes all the time, so here's a fall-ish type dish that will probably make it to the menu in a week or two.

What you'll need:

1 cup farro(barley will work if you can't find farro)
1 lb butternut squash, peeled, gutted, and cubed into bite sized pieces
1 small bulb fresh fennel sliced
1 small to medium red onion cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 tbsp of fresh rosemary chopped finely
1 tbsp of fresh sage chopped finely
a little olive oil
a tiny bit of agave nectar
salt and pepper to taste

and for the dressing:

1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar
1 cup of olive oil
1 tsp agave nectar
a few grates of fresh nutmeg...like not even 1/4 tsp (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the farro according to the directions, and let it cool. Coat the squash with olive oil, the agave nectar, half of the herbs, salt and pepper. Toss your onions and fennel with a little oil, salt and pepper, then roast them all in a 375 degree oven. 30-40 minutes for the squash and 20-25 minutes for the fennel and onion...so be sure to use separate roasting vessels. Whisk together all of the dressing ingredients until fully blended. When everything comes out of the oven and is cooled to room temperature, toss it all together with the remaining fresh herbs. That' it! So let it be written...