Love black rice…it has a wonderful nutty flavor and is full of the same antioxidants you find in blueberries. In this dish I combined it with farro, another one of my favorite grains. You can either cook them separately or together as their cooking time is similar. Just know that if you cook the farro with the black rice the farro will absorb the black color of the rice. So if you want a different color variation cook them separate according to package directions.

 

ingredients

  • 1 cup black rice, cook per package directions
  • 1 c farro, cook per package directions
  • 1 bunch broccolini, coarsely chop stems and florets
  • 4 ounces pancetta, coarsely chopped
  • 8 medium shiitake mushrooms, sliced and chopped
  • 1 T olive oil
  • 2 – 3 T arugula and parsley pesto

directions

Add the olive oil to a skillet and add the pancetta to the pan.  Cook the pancetta until lightly browned.  Add the chopped broccolini to the skillet and sauté for a couple of minutes until still al dente to retain the green color.  Over cooked brocolini is not appealing. Then fold in the black rice and farro. Add the desired amount of pesto you want. I just used a couple of tablespoons because I wanted a light pesto taste. I used arugula and parsley in my pesto with pine nuts. But you could use basil, spinach, any type of herb will work depending on how you want th