One of my goals for the New Year is to create more nourishing and invigorating dishes that fuel me and my family. I find lunch a particularly challenging meal to plan. A lot of times I will eat leftovers from the night before or toss together a hodgepodge of items collected from the fridge; but I usually discover the food on my plate uninspiring and unfulfilling.  Luckily, I struck gold with this new recipe for farro cakes that had me ready to break out a quill pen and write poetry by the fireside.

Of the grains I have tried, farro is definitely my favorite. It boasts a nutty, chewy, and a slightly sweet flavor that provides a great base to salads and soups. It worked very well as a substitute for quinoa is this dish and the end result was a crispy and earthy patty that reminded me of a new and improved potato pancake. It was positively scrumptious with the addition of a fried egg fresh from our girls out back.

  
 Robert suggested a drizzle of Red Hot on the side and it made our taste buds sing. The man knows how to pair hot sauces with food. There should be a title for this skill. Hot sauceror?

Perhaps what I loved most about it is the fact that it is so quick and easy to make. I made the farro the night before while I was cleaning up the kitchen, and this made things as easy as pie for the following day. These farro cakes are everything I was looking for in a lunch and I know I will be making them again very soon. I hope you do, too.

Farro Cakes

Yield: About 8 small cakes

Ingredients

• 2 cups farro, cooked
• 3 eggs. lightly beaten
• 1 cup loosely-packed and fresh spinach, chopped
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 1/3 cup freshly shredded parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup finely crushed crackers or 1/2 cup bread crumbs (whichever you have on hand or prefer)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Olive oil, for the pan

Directions

1. Combine the cooked farro, eggs, spinach, onion, parmesan, crackers, salt, and pepper in a medium-sized bowl. Use a wooden spoon or your clean hand to combine all ingredients until well-mixed. Form into 3 inch patties The ingredients are delicate so you have to press them together firmly or you can add more bread crumbs or cracker crumbs as a binder, if needed (I didn’t have to).
2. Add olive oil to a large, non-stick skillet and heat over medium heat until hot. Carefully place the patties onto the pan and sear for about 3 mins on each side, or until lightly browned and crispy. Remove from pan and place on a plate lined with a paper towel to absorb excess oil. Pan-fry remaining patties. Serve hot with a sunny-side up egg, if desired.
3. These patties can be re-heated the next day by simply searing them briefly in a skillet with a drizzle of olive oil (about 1-2 mins per side or until warmed).

Source: Adapted from Annie’s Eats originally from Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Every Day