Ingredients (19)
For the Lemongrass Pesto:
- 2 stalks lemongrass
- 2 medium garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup shelled raw pistachios
- 1 makrut lime leaf, thinly sliced, or grated zest of 1 lime
- 1 cup fresh Thai basil leaves (10 to 12 stems)
For the Green Monster stir fry:
- 2 cups uncooked farro
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium leek, cleaned and thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
- 6 to 8 Brussels sprouts, thinly sliced (about 3/4 cup)
- 1 cup baby spinach
- 1/2 cup shelled edamame beans
- 1/2 cup fresh or frozen green peas
- 1/2 cup Lemongrass Pesto (see above)
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 medium avocado, diced
- 1 English cucumber, diced
- Calories744
- Fat52.42g
- Saturated fat7.97g
- Trans fat0g
- Carbs59.89g
- Fiber13.13g
- Sugar8.18g
- Protein18.37g
- Cholesterol6.75mg
- Sodium623.29mg
- Nutritional Analysis per serving (6 servings) Powered by
Cold winter weather calls for hearty food, but it doesn’t have to be heavy sauces, meats, and cheese (at least not all the time). This Green Monster stir-fry is rich and delicious yet still healthy and packed with seasonal vegetables, like Brussels sprouts and leeks. Baby spinach, edamame, and green peas bring even more green to the table, while chewy, nutty farro stands in for the usual rice, and a fresh lemongrass-pistachio pesto brightens everything up. Feel free to add or substitute whatever green vegetables are in season and look best. And although you’ll only need half of the lemongrass pesto for this recipe, it’s delicious with lots of other things and stores really well in the freezer, so you may as well make the whole batch. While the stir-fry is great warm out of the wok, you can eat any leftovers cold, like a pasta salad, for lunch the next day.
Instructions
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1
Peel and discard the dry, papery outer layers of the lemongrass; trim off the top two-thirds of the stalk, which is also dry and papery, along with the very base and discard. Coarsely chop the bottom third (5 to 6 inches) of the stalk, where the stem is pale and bendable. You should have about [1/4] cup chopped lemongrass. Set aside.
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2
Place the garlic and salt in a food processor. With the processor running, drizzle in about half the olive oil and process into a paste. Add the pistachios and pulse until they become crumbly. Add the chopped lemongrass and lime leaf and pulse to combine. Add the remaining olive oil and 2 tablespoons water and process until the pesto is nice and creamy. Add another 1 tablespoon water if needed to loosen the pesto. Finally add the basil, pulsing to incorporate all the ingredients together fully. Be careful not to overprocess or the pesto will be brown and yucky. The pesto can be made up to 3 days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
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3
Use in soups and mix into pasta salads for a hit of fresh lemony nutty flavor.
To make the Green Monster stir fry:
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1
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and add 1 teaspoon of the salt. Add the farro and cook, stirring occasionally, until the farro is cooked through and pleasantly chewy when you bite into it, 10 to12 minutes. Drain in a colander and set aside.
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2
In a wok or a large, heavy, flat-bottomed skillet, heat the oil over high heat until it shimmers, about 1 minute. Add the leeks and Brussels sprouts and stir with a wooden spoon until they are soft, about 1 minute. Add the cooked farro and toast in the pan, stirring continuously until it all starts to smell nutty and delicious, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the spinach, edamame, and peas and toss until the spinach wilts and the edamame and peas are warmed through, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and add the pesto. Stir to blend the pesto into the farro and vegetables. Season with the remaining 1 teaspoon salt and pepper. Divide among six serving bowls and top each bowl evenly with diced avocado and cucumber. Serve immediately.
THE GREEN MONSTER excerpted from MYERS+CHANG AT HOME © 2017 by Joanne Chang & Karen Akunowicz. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved. Image courtesy of Kristen Teig.