Farro Risotto Primavera

A wholesome recipe to welcome spring (and celebrate Easter)!

I’m currently writing this from our favorite Airbnb upstate in the Catskills, where we are spending the last few days of our spring break. While I’m happily soaking up the mountains and evenings by a roaring fire, we’ll be heading home to celebrate Easter very soon! Even though it’s technically already spring, Easter feels like the unofficial start of the season to me; we start seeing things like asparagus and green peas popping up on menus and farmer’s markets, and everything - from our clothing to our overall mood - feels brighter and lighter.

Even if you don’t celebrate Easter, the changing of the seasons is something worth honoring - spring is a time of powerful rebirth and growth, and an opportunity to cleanse out stagnant energy and accumulated imbalances. We can celebrate the resurgence of life in nature by adding in fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables at their nutritional peak to our meals. Filling our diets with health-supportive produce is exactly what our bodies need to reset and detoxify after months of the heavy, dense foods that we crave during the colder months.

Yet, it’s still a little chilly outside, so I still like to include a portion of a hearty, warm grain or pasta to some meals, which makes this Farro Risotto Primavera a perfect winter-to-spring transitional recipe. Even though arborio rice is traditionally used in risottos, I chose farro here because it’s extremely nutritious, being high in fiber, protein, magnesium, zinc and B vitamins, and I can’t get enough of its nutty, slightly chewy texture. When combined with lots of fresh vegetables, it’s an incredibly wholesome, satisfying meal perfect for this time of year.