I like to make skillet meals as part of my meal prep for work lunches or for easy dinners. This broccoli and mushroom farro skillet with tahini sauce is one of my go-to skillet meals because it’s filling and simple to make.
Tahini makes a good base for savory sauces. It’s made from ground toasted sesame seeds so it has a very nutty flavor.
To make the creamy tahini sauce in this dish, tahini is mixed with almond milk, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, garlic, soy sauce, mustard, and cornstarch. If you prefer a less garlicky sauce use a little garlic powder instead of a small clove of garlic.
Feel free to replace the broccoli and mushrooms with whatever vegetables you like or happen to have on hand. Any vegetable would go with the farro and tahini sauce. In the summer months when I get weekly produce from my CSA I often use eggplant, zucchini, and kale in this dish.
To make this dish even heartier, you can add a protein such as chicken, tempeh, or tofu.
Farro
Farro is one of my favorite whole grains to use and I always keep some in my pantry.
It’s a good source of protein and fiber, providing about 7g of protein and 7g of fiber per serving. It’s also high in iron. Farro is a type of wheat so it’s not gluten-free.
It comes in three varieties: whole farro, semi-pearled (part of the bran has been removed with some fiber retained), and pearled (all the bran has been removed leaving very little fiber).
I use farro when I want to include a denser whole grain in a dish. Farro is chewy and has a firm texture so it doesn’t get mushy during cooking. It’s ability to retain its texture is why farro is probably my favorite grain to use in skillet meals.
The firm texture makes it easy to use in a variety of dishes. In addition to skillet meals, farro can be used to:
- Make a grain salad
- Add it to soups
- Use it to replace rice or quinoa in any recipe
- Use it when making veggie burgers since the firmer texture makes it a good binder
- Make it into a breakfast porridge instead of making oatmeal
Vegetable Farro Skillet with Tahini Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried farro
- 8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 head of broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
Tahini Sauce
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 1 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tsp mustard
- 1 small garlic clove
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Cook farro according to package directions.
- While the farro cooks, heat cooking oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the mushrooms and broccoli and cook another 5-7 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Drain farro and add it to the vegetables and mix to combine.
- Make the tahini sauce. Add everything from the almond milk through the salt into a blender and blend it all up.
- Add the tahini sauce to the vegetables and farro and mix until combined. Cook 2-3 minutes to warm everything up.