Instant Pot Farro Risotto

This is a basic no-cheese farro risotto for the instant pot, based on my IP risotto recipe and a farro risotto recipe straight from the horse’s mouth. Like any risotto you can switch it up to no end.

The internet frequently recommends using more water and draining afterwards, but using Bob’s Red Mill farro the proportions below worked for me. The internet also recommends rinsing the farro first, which I haven’t tried.

Serves two as a main meal with extras (one person per half cup of farro), or 3–4 (per cup) as a side dish.

Ingredients

• 2 T. olive oil
• 1 shallot, sliced, or yellow onion, diced
• 2–3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 c. raw farro (or more)
• 1 ½ c. chicken, vegetable, or meat stock (or twice the volume of the farro, if using more)
• 1 T. dry wine (optional)
• ¾ tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. miso paste (optional)
• other spices to taste (e.g., thyme, pepper, turmeric, sage, etc.)
• optional extras (12 oz. mushrooms, 6 oz. spinach, etc.)

Directions

1. Optionally (in the instant pot), saute the onions in the oil on low to desired transparency. Add garlic and saute one more minute.
2. If the extras cannot stand up to pressure cooking, saute them now until cooked, then fish them out and set aside.
3. Saute the farro in the oil.
4. Optionally, deglaze the pot with wine and stir in the miso.
5. Add stock and any durable extras. Stir and deglaze the pot if not already deglazed.
6. Cancel saute, close instant pot, and seal the vent.
7. Pressure cook on high for 12 minutes.
8. Release steam naturally (10 minutes).
9. Open pot and stir in any fished-out extras.

If you include fresh mushrooms, subtract the volume of mushroom juice from the broth when adding broth.

Variants

You can stir in ½ c. parmesan at the end or when serving.

You can replace some of the liquid with tomatoes.

Some pressure cook farro for only 10 minutes.