Farro and Lentils With Jammy Onions

Farro and Lentils With Jammy Onions
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
35 minutes
Rating
4(2,025)
Notes
Read community notes

Simmering chopped onions in a generous amount of olive oil is a two-for-one deal: The onions go soft and sweet while the oil gets infused with deep flavor. While the onions sizzle and simmer, the lentils and farro boil together until al dente, keeping the dish a speedy weeknight option. This makes a great warm side dish or a satisfying make-ahead grain salad. (Leftovers keep for up to three days.) Red-pepper flakes add heat, and lemon peel provides floral sweetness; you could also add whole spices, capers or other additions, if you like. Accessorize with hearty greens, soft herbs, eggs, smoked fish or leftover roasted vegetables.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 1lemon
  • cup olive oil
  • 2large yellow onions, coarsely chopped
  • ¼teaspoon red-pepper flakes
  • Kosher salt and black pepper
  • 1cup brown or green lentils
  • 1cup farro
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

672 calories; 38 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 27 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 70 grams carbohydrates; 12 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 19 grams protein; 521 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Using a vegetable peeler, peel 1-inch-wide strips of zest from the lemon. In a large Dutch oven or skillet, heat the olive oil, onions, lemon peel and red-pepper flakes over medium. Season with salt and pepper, and cover. When you hear sizzling, uncover, reduce heat, and gently simmer, stirring occasionally, until the onions are very soft and golden at the edges, 20 to 25 minutes. If at any point the onions risk burning, reduce heat and add 1 or 2 teaspoons of water. Remove from heat.

  2. Step 2

    Once the water’s boiling, add the lentils and farro and simmer, uncovered, until al dente, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain in a colander, rinse under cold water until cool, shake very dry, and season with salt.

  3. Step 3

    Pluck out the lemon peel from the onions and coarsely chop. Add the chopped peel, farro and lentils to the onions. Stir to combine, then add lemon juice, to taste, about 2 to 4 tablespoons. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Ratings

4 out of 5
2,025 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

This was SO delicious. I made half the portion - used half the farro/lentils, full amount of lemon and red pepper, and only 2 tablespoons of oil (to make it healthier). Turned out full of flavor. Served with roasted Sea Bass. The recipe is great as is, but would also makes a great base for other veggies - next time I may add spinach, kale, green beans, mushrooms, or asparagus.

I’ve been making this for a while and thought I invented it! My riff on mujadarah when I didnt have rice on hand due to pandemic, only farro. So I make this like mujadarah with cumin and cinnamon and never thought to add lemon. preserved lemon? That might be great. Basically I think of this recipe as a base just like the author and make it a little different every time. My kids LOVE it and i can leave a pot in the fridge for them to reheat at home. Sour cream or yogurt on top are great.

I used black lentils and it discolored the farro, just a heads up.

Red lentils tend to fall apart into mush, while green and brown lentils both tend to keep their shape. In this recipe, you want individual lentils (as in a salad), not lentil mush (as in a red lentil soup).

I would be tempted in the future to boil the lentils farro in broth rather than water to give them more flavor. I also think some fresh thyme would be a great addition to add a herbaceous quality. Per another poster’s recommendation, I added asparagus and mushrooms as well as a 7-minute egg to top off the dish. Next time, I’m thinking of using cauliflower and chickpeas with some warm spices for a Moroccan flair. Overall, a good base dish w/ a lot of latitude for experimentation.

This was delicious. I wilted some baby kale in the colander when I drained the farro and the lentils and added that, plus a tiny bit of feta and chopped olives on top.

Delicious. Easy. Added a bit of cinnamon and cumin as recommended by others. Topped with pine nuts, sun dried tomatoes and Kalamata olives. Definitely will be making this again!

I followed the recipe exactly & it was DELICIOUS! Added steamed cauliflower & it was a wonderful vegetarian meal.

This was fantastic. Took the advice of another and split the recipe in half. Added some spinach, a 6.5 minute egg and it was the perfect lunch. Also coked lentils and farro in broth for additional flavor. It’s a winner, especially when you don’t feel like turning on the oven!

Did the author meant one-inch-WIDE strips of lemon zest?

This was delicious! I made exactly as directed, and then put it in fridge. Served it over spinach dressed with lemon juice and olive oil, sort of room temp warm salad. Very hearty and the lemon rind is bright and lovely.

Looks like a 7 or 8 minute egg to me. Here's a good guide. https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020468-perfect-boiled-eggs

Great base, the onions do almost all the work here, but following some others' suggestions, I added harissa, cumin and cinammon at the end of the onions cooking, along with some lacinato kale just long enough to wilt. One note, needs a good amount of salt at each step.

I added some Italian chicken sausage and some arugula but next time I’d add some micro greens. The onions make the decision, low and slow for as long as possible to make it as “jammy” as possible!

Didn’t have farro and so made it with basmati rice instead, adding the rice to the boiling water about 10 minutes after starting the lentils. Also added preserved lemon, and twice the red pepper flakes. Delicious!

This was shockingly good considering the few simple ingredients utilized. I used about half the olive oil called for and didn’t miss it. Served with a sprinkle of grated Parmesan, soft boiled eggs and a side of grilled asparagus. Even the teens loved it.

Oh man was this delicious! Paired with zucchini sautéed in the leftover lemon infused oil and toasted naan. Yum!

i've made this on&off for the last few months. it makes a fantastic to-go lunch. here's what my version has evolved into: Onions cooked the same. Lentils and Farro into a rice cooker with 2x Water / Bouillon or Stock. I leave the Lemon peel in, breaking it apart with my spatula. Add a can of Chickpeas and bunch of chopped Kale. Cook that down till tender. Combine everything off heat and let cool. Soft-Boiled Egg and Goat Cheese or Feta work well on top.

This is really good. I had it warm over a handful of kale with crumbled goat cheese and capers on top.

Substituted red quinoa for ferro grain. Added kale when incorporated the lentils. Added feta cheese. Very good when additions added Needed more salt and lemon juice then in recipe

Thank you NYT Cooking! I've made this at least 20 times in the last year or so. It's great with farro, and lentils but I've also used brown rice and barley... Tonight I'm adding garlic and a jalapeno but as is...100% great.

Delicious! Good additions: feta, pine nuts, olives, kale

i've been making a 1/2 batch of this weekly as it is such a perfect to-go lunch for workdays. adjustments: to get the onions truly "jammy," i let them go slow and low for nearly an hour. add a can of chickpeas (add towards the end of the onions). then add a bunch of kale, chopped. lentils & farro in a rice cooker, 1:2 ratio grains:water, use Better than Bouillon to really give it a flavor boost. a soft boiled egg or two on top, and some goat cheese.

Very nice. Based on the comments, I added a fat pinch of coarse sea salt to the lentil/Farro mix and a fat pinch to the onion/lemon mix. One thing was confusing, it didn't say how much water to put in the saucepan for the lentil/farro. I guessed, and the grains quickly absorbed the water, so I kept a kettle of hot water ready and added when necessary.

Doubled the lemon juice and added lemon pepper (generously) to the finished product. Also make sure to prepare the lentils and farro in stock rather than water (I used bouillon cubes) for the extra umami!

This is a great base for a salad or main dish, but I found it very bland on it's own. I added spinach, tomatoes and artichokes (random leftover veggies I found in the fridge) and made a nice salad.

I LOVE this recipe and make it all the time. The first time I made this it really opened my eyes to using lemon peel in cooking - SO GOOD

Beware: whole farro takes 45min to cook. The recipe doesn’t specify, but it must be pearl. Timing was a bit tricky, but delicious!

Very good but next time I will throw away the lemon peel after sauteeing with onion. The chopped peel was too overpowering mixed in with the farro and lentils.

This is so good! I used one slice of preserved Meyer lemon and half of a fresh lemon. I added fresh thyme. I boiled the lentils and farro with a teaspoon of vegetable bouillon in the water. It took about 30 minutes for the lentils to become al dente.

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