French Onion Baked Lentils and Farro

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Sorry for my absence. We just spent a glorious wintery week with my parents in Bozeman. We did nothing more than ski, play Rummikub, watch football and movies…pretty much in that order. Oh, and we cooked. It was the snowiest visit that we’ve had in years which made the skiing fantastic and the apres even better.

One night we decided to make French Onion Baked Lentils and Farro, one of Smitten Kitchen‘s most popular recipes of 2024. This dish is the embodiment of a snowy winter day. An abundance of caramelized onions, meaty lentils, and chewy farro are baked until they have melded together into a glorious mess. Towards the end of the baking time you may add the additional stock (I did) to get the consistency of risotto. You want it to be loose and hearty before topping with a gruyere crown for the win.

French Onion Baked Lentil and Farro is perfect served as a main with a vinegary salad on the side or as my mom suggested, as a side to a meaty main like brisket if your group is less inclined to go vegetarian. Personally, I feel like it is satisfying enough to go it alone. Let me know what you think. Enjoy!

PS: I really hope that Deb Perlman does not notice that I borrowed her photo which is only slightly better than my own. It’s hard to make a pot of brown pop.

PSS: I would be remiss not to mention the devastation in California from the relentless wildfires and wind. I’ve been watching the absolute horror unfold on what feels like a continuous loop. As you read these last few sentences you can’t see or feel the stagnant pause after I typed the word “loop.” That’s the funny thing about writing. There are only the words on the page and somehow the writer needs to project the feeling behind them. This is where my talent lacks because I am speechless. I don’t know how to convey how deeply I feel for these people who not only lost their homes and all of their belongings but their communities, as well. I know from my parents’ experience of a house fire that it was their incredible strength combined with the support of a community that got them through the rebuilding process. It was the car dealer who handed them the keys to a car and told them to come back when they had a credit card. It was then manager of the local outdoors store who told them to each pick a pair of shoes and walk out the door. The neighbor down the road, a person who they had only waved to in passing (as Montanans do) who handed my dad a wad of cash and said, “Please take this. I’m sorry that it’s all I have.” Not to mention the loving friends who took them in and others who delivered comfortable clothes, underwear, socks and meals. It is impossible to imagine these people recovering en masse but I know one thing which is that we all will need to think of Angelinos as our neighbors and act accordingly, with no gesture being too small. America the beautiful.

French Onion Baked Lentils and Farro
Print Recipe

French Onion Baked Lentils and Farro

Servings: 6

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs yellow onions (4 large or 5 medium) sliced
  • 2 Tbls unsalted butter
  • 1 Tbls olive oil
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 Tbls dry sherry, vermouth, or white wine optional
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 1/2 c dried farro
  • 3/4 c dried lentils any variety, but green (le puy) or brown (italian) preferred
  • a few sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 6 c vegetable broth + splashes more, if needed
  • 2 c coarsely grated gruyere cheese

Instructions

Caramelize Onions

  • Heat butter and olive oil in a large, deep saute pan, ideally one that’s ovenproof, over medium heat. Add the onions, toss to coat them in butter and oil and cover the pot.
  • Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the onions slowly steep for 15 to 20 minutes — they don’t need your attention. You want to start the stirring process sooner if they’re browning or sticking to the pan. Uncover the pot, raise the heat to medium-high (for now) and stir in salt — starting with 2 teaspoons of kosher salt.
  • Cook onions, stirring every few minutes (you can check less often in the beginning, and will have to frequently stir later in the process) until the onions are brown, soft, and sweet, about 20 minutes more. You’ll want to reduce the heat to medium once any water the onions emitted has cooked off.
  • Preheat oven to 375F.

Assemble Casserole

  • Add garlic to the onions and cook, stirring, one minute. Add sherry, if using, and cook until it disappears. Add the farro and cook for 2 minutes. Add lentils and 6 cups broth and thyme and bring the mixture to a simmer. Season well with salt and pepper as needed. If your pan isn’t ovenproof, transfer it at this point to a casserole dish.

Bake the casserole

  • Cover the pan and bake, stirring about halfway through, until the lentils and farro are tender, 40 to 50 minutes. If all of the liquid has absorbed, either at the midway through point or at the end, add another 1/4 to 1/2 cup splash of broth. You’re looking for a risotto-like looseness or light “slosh” in the pan. Fish out thyme stems.

To finish

  • Sprinkle the dish with gruyere and broil until browned on top. Serve.

Notes

Do ahead: The dish keeps fantastically in the fridge for 4 to 5 days; rewarm in a 350-degree oven. You can also prepare the lentil and farro base a few days early, rewarm it (it will likely need more broth at this point), and broil the cheese on top right before serving.
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