Comfort food at its best! Kumera produces sweet and sticky juices when its baked for a period of time, making it the perfect dressing to balance the roasted nutty farro grain.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 small kumera
• 1 cup roasted farro (washed)
• olive oil
• ½ bunch parsley (rinsed & chopped)
• ¼ bunch dill (rinsed & chopped)
• feta to serve

Salsa Verde sauce:

• ½ bunch of parsley
• ½ bunch mint
• 2 small anchovy fillets (rinsed)
• 1 tablespoon capers (rinsed)
• 1 small garlic clove
• pinch of salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup olive oil

METHOD

1. Place the whole kumera (not cut) on a baking tray and brush with a little olive oil, and cover with aluminium foil. Bake in a moderate oven at 180 degrees for 1.5hrs, check if they are cooked through by poking them with a fork, if they are still firm place them back in the oven for further 30mins without the foil on until the skin starts to wrinkle.
2. To make the Salsa Verde add all ingredients to a food processor and blitz to combine, season depending on your taste. Set the salsa Verde aside to serve at room temperature.
3. Meanwhile, place the farro in a pot with 2 cups of water and a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil and reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 40mins. Once the grains are tender (they have a firmer texture compared to rice) and have absorbed the liquid, place them in a bowl with the chopped herbs leaving some to garnish.
4. Take the kumera out of the oven once they are cooked and place on a serving dish. Add the leftover sweet sticky juices left on the baking tray to the bowl of farro mix; this creates the dressing for the filling.
   Slice down the middle of the kumera only half way through (be careful not to cut all the way through to the bottom). Using a fork, squash open the opening and fill with the farro mix. Garnish with crumbled feta, a good drizzle of the salsa verde and the leftover herbs.

Recipe and photos by Bonnie Coumbe. See her website here and Instagram here.