Thick, hearty farro and bean soup is a comforting meal on a cold day. Healthy farro and beans get lots of flavor from sage, garlic, tomato and pancetta.
I’m a soup junkie. Those f you that visit here regularly are well aware of my crazy dream of selling soup at a local farmer’s market. Big change from cloud computing! All fall and winter, I make big batches of soup almost weekly. My husband loves to take a dish with his lunch and even my girls are starting to enjoy soup. Little Nutmeg loves broccoli cheddar and Eclair prefers a simple homemade chicken noodle. There are a few soups I make that are hearty enough to be a meal on their own. This is one of them, loaded with farro, beans and pancetta. (Want another? Try chicken tortilla!)
This is a soup that gets better with time, so let it cook low and slow so the flavors can develop. Serve it sprinkled with grated Parmesan and a chunk of crusty bread and you have a perfect lunch or light dinner.
- 1 ½ cups pinto beans, rinsed
- ¾ cup farro, rinsed
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ cup diced pancetta
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 4 large garlic cloves, minced
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 1 bouquet garni with a few sprigs
- each of parsley and thyme, a bay leaf
- and a Parmesan rind
- 1 carrot, peeled and diced
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- 2 leeks, white and light green parts
- only, cut in half lengthwise, cleaned
- and sliced thin
- 6 sage leaves, chopped
- 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes,
- with juice
- 2 tablespoonw tomato paste
- Freshly grated Parmesan for serving
- Combine beans and farro in a bowl and cover with 1½ quarts water. Soak for 4 to 6 hours, or overnight. Do not drain.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large, heavy soup pot over medium heat and add half the pancetta and the onions. Cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes, thhen stir in
- half the garlic. Cook, stirring, until garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add beans and farro, along with the soaking water. Add another the chicken stock and bouquet garni and bring to a gentle boil. Skim foam, reduce heat, cover and simmer 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in a heavy skillet and add pancetta. Add the carrot, celery and leeks. Add a generous pinch of salt and cook, stirring often, until vegetables are tender, 5 to 8 minutes.
- Stir in the remaining garlic and the sage. Cook until garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute, add the tomatoes and juice, and salt to taste. Cook, stirring, until tomatoes have cooked down slightly, about 10 minutes. Stir into the beans and farro along with their liquid and mix well.
- Add the tomato paste and salt to taste. (You will need a generous amount.) Continue to simmer 30 to 45 minutes, or until beans and farro are very tender and the soup thick, almost creamy. Add pepper, taste and adjust salt. Remove bouquet garni.
- Stir in the parsley and additional chopped sage if desired. Serve with a sprinkling of Parmesan over each bowl.
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