Butternut Squash Farrotto

Courtesy Kenny Woods, chef, 1440 Multiversity in Scotts Valley Serves 4 to 6

Kenny Woods is living his dream as executive chef at the new, luxuriously rustic-chic 1440 Multiversity in Scotts Valley. e 27-year-old Tucson native supervises the Kitchen Table dining facility on campus, using a seasonal vegetable-driven approach to make sure that conference-goers are nourished in body and mind. He’s excited about a teaching kitchen and garden currently under construction, for classes on diet and nutrition. And he says feel free to experiment with other types of winter squash in making his recipes below.

1 butternut squash 4 cups vegetable stock 1½ cups farro (stay away from instant if you can) 1 tablespoon olive oil ½ cup shallots, minced 2 tablespoons garlic, minced 2 sprigs of thyme, leaves plucked and minced ¼ cup white wine 1⁄3 cup raw cashews, soaked for 1 hour 1 tablespoon yellow miso 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast 1¼ cups water, divided Sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste Pomegranate seeds, for garnish (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400° F.

Cut the butternut squash lengthwise. Discard seeds and lay both halves, skin side up, on a sheet tray. Roast until tender, about 40 minutes to 1 hour.

In a medium saucepan, combine the vegetable stock and 1 cup of the water and place it over medium heat. Cover the stock and let it simmer. Keep warm.

With 1½ cups of cooked butternut squash from the cooked halves, combine the squash, drained cashews, miso, nutritional yeast, salt, pepper and remaining water in a blender. Blend until silky smooth.

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent. Add the garlic and thyme and stir. Pour the farro into the pot and stir.

Toast the farro for around 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Deglaze the pot with white wine, add ¼ cup of water and stir until the liquid is evaporated.

Using a soup ladle, pour hot vegetable stock into farro, one ladle at a time. is will open the starch in the farro and thicken the farrotto. Continue to stir while adding the hot stock. If you use instant farro, you will need less stock.

Transfer the butternut purée to the farrotto pot and incorporate. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the farrotto to a simmer, uncovered for another 5–10 minutes. Continue to stir to avoid sticking to the bottom of the pot. e farrotto is ready when the grains are just past al dente and risotto is not runny.

Garnish with pomegranate seeds, olive oil and black pepper. Goes great with pan-seared fish or poultry.