Soup for You!

One of our best sets of friends has been in Rome with us and brought us a fabulous cookbook, In A Roman Kitchen, by Jo Bettoja. I was immediately inspired to make my very first batch of farro (aka, spelt) soup this last weekend and it was soooo good, I wanted to share the recipe.

This soup is the perfect fall soup. It’s super quick and easy to make, savory in flavor and simple to switch to a vegetarian soup. I’ve tweaked the recipe a bit from the original, but only to enhance the flavor.

Savory Farro Soup - Serves 6

1 ¾ cups (350 grams) *farro, soaked in water for 30 minutes, then drained

1/3 cup (80 ml) olive oil

¼ pound (110 grams) pancetta, chopped (or turkey bacon, or no meat at all!)

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 medium onion, chopped

2 stalks of celery, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and julienned

½ pound (225 grams) tomatoes, finely chopped

1 large handful of basil, finely chopped

1 large handful of parsley, finely chopped

6 cups (1.5 liters) vegetable broth, chicken broth or beef broth

1 cup (225 ml) white or red wine (if you’d prefer not to use wine, add another cup of broth)

salt and pepper to taste

½ cup (50 grams) pecorino Romano cheese, freshly grated (or Parmesan)

Heat oil in a flameproof casserole (i.e., Le Creuset) or stockpot and add the pancetta, garlic, onion, celery and carrots. Cook over medium heat, stirring until the onion is translucent, 5-7 minutes. Add the tomatoes, basil, and parsley and continue cooking for an additional 5-7 minutes. Pour in the stock and wine and bring to a boil. Add the farro to the pot, stirring to combine. Taste the broth and add salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low, allow the soup to gently boil for 30 minutes, or until the farro is tender. Stir in the grated cheese and serve. We pass additional grated cheese at our table.

If you prefer this soup vegetarian, add a can of borlotti, cannellini, or garbanzo beans after adding the farro. As the farro cooks, the soup thickens. If you prefer a thinner soup, add additional broth.

*Do check the cooking time of the farro on the package, as some farro needs to be soaked overnight, then cooked for a couple of hours before it is tender. We buy farro, which is “broken” so the cooking time is much shorter.