Eating a low-carb diet doesn’t mean you have to give up on carbs entirely as long as you focus on whole, heart-healthy, unprocessed grains, like farro. Very similar to barley, farro is a dense, chewy grain that has a thick outer husk and deep nutty, rich flavor.
This recipe was the first time I cooked with farro, and I immediately loved it. I was happy with my decision to pair it with the fresh herbs and the fresh lemon juice which brightened up the flavor and made a great side dish.
This dish is perfect for anyone on a low-carb diet. The firm, meaty texture of the mushrooms is a wonderful companion to the tender chicken and bright flavors from the pesto and fresh basil. Toss a handful of spring greens with a tangy vinaigrette, and you have a delicious, quick, healthy dinner.
Okay, one last side dish before we go back to making some more delicious main dishes and decadent desserts.
I served these stuffed tomatoes for dinner one night with some roasted chicken, and they were the perfect marriage of flavor. The tender couscous, creamy feta cheese, fresh herbs and briny capers were such a surprising bright pop of flavor, my husband and daughter asked me to make the couscous again the following weekend.
This recipe would also be a perfect appetizer using the smaller cherry tomatoes. In fact, ladies, get ready for the next get-together at my house. These little cherry bombs are what I’ll be making!
It’s hard to imagine the same bright summer heat that ripens tomatoes could still infuse its warmth offseason, but that flavor really comes through here. I used minced sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil, which not only infused that delicious warm tomato flavor into the dough, it gave the gnocchi great color as well.
These little nuggets have so much flavor all they need is a light toss in some toasted garlic olive oil and a sprinkle of fresh Parmesan and chopped basil.