#farro soup

[thisismyapathy]

Mushroom and Farro Soup If you're looking for a nice and filling soup, try this one that's full of mushrooms, farro, and vegetables.

[dangeroussaladmilkshake]

Here’s a delicious soup we chose as a first course. It’s hearty and filling even with no meat, and Ina has a few extra tips for ways to finish it off in a special way.

In her own notes about this recipe, Ina explains, “Pearled farro is a whole grain that is now available in most grocery and health food stores. This soup with mushrooms, pancetta, and lots of vegetables is really hearty. I make it ahead, refrigerate it, and then reheat it, serving it with a dollop of crème fraîche and a swirl of Marsala wine.”

Vegetarian & Vegan Adjustments

Obviously this does have pancetta, but that can be left out at little cost to the soup. There’s plenty of oil to cook the vegetables in. Substitute vegetable broth for the beef broth, and the soup is vegetarian. Leave off the crème fraîche at the end and it’s vegan too.

How Ina Finishes Off This Soup

This soup can simply be made ahead (and even frozen!) and reheated just before serving. If there’s a little extra time, though, Ina likes to add a special finishing touch, like a crouton or bread. “As the flavor melds soup gets better, but I always try and put something with it,” she told me. “Take a baguette and do big long diagonal slices — then grill it in the panini machine brushed with olive oil. You can do a lot at one time, and then you have something crunchy with the soup.”

Yum! Thanks Ina!

Tester’s Notes

This soup was rich, satisfying, and reminded me of a hearty cream of mushroom soup with all the farro, vegetables, and pancetta. Definitely great for dinner with some crusty bread or a green salad!

My package of farro wasn’t specifically labeled “pearled,” but it did have a suggested cooking time of 45 minutes, which is the same as this recipe, so it ended up working just fine. If you can’t find crème fraîche, use sour cream instead.

  Wild Mushroom & Farro Soup

Serves 6

1 1/2 ounces dried wild mushrooms, such as morels or porcini 3 tablespoons good olive oil 4 ounces pancetta, 1/2-inch-diced 3 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions) 2 cups (1/2-inch-diced) peeled carrots (3 to 4 carrots) 2 cups (1/2-inch-diced) celery (3 to 4 stalks) 4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves) 3/4 cup pearled farro (5 ounces) (See Recipe Note) 12 ounces fresh cremini mushrooms, cleaned, stems discarded, 1/4-inch-sliced 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons dry Marsala wine, divided 4 cups canned beef broth, such as College Inn 3 large sprigs fresh thyme, tied together with kitchen twine Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature 4 ounces crème fraîche 1/4 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

Place the dried mushrooms and 6 cups of water in a medium pot and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat, cover, and set aside for at least 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the pancetta, onions, carrots, and celery and sauté over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender. Add the garlic and farro and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the cremini mushrooms and the 1/2 cup Marsala and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until the mushrooms have released some of their liquid.

Meanwhile, strain the dried mushrooms through cheesecloth, reserving the liquid. Coarsely chop the mushrooms and add them to the pot, along with the strained soaking liquid, beef broth, thyme, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer partially covered for 45 minutes, until the farro is tender. Discard the thyme bundle.

In a small bowl, mash together the flour and butter and stir into the hot soup. Simmer for 5 minutes, then stir in the crème fraîche and remaining 2 tablespoons of Marsala, and taste for seasonings. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve hot.

Recipe Notes

Be sure you buy “pearled” farro; regular farro takes much longer to cook.

[dangeroussaladmilkshake]

Soup is a perfect way to eat healthy. It’s quick to make, comforting to eat, and you can pack it full of veggies. This mushroom and farro version satisfies all of the above, plus it’s hearty enough to keep you full. Don’t have farro? Substitute any other whole grain (barley, rice, or wheat berries would work well) and adjust the cooking time accordingly.

8 Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter

1 small onion, diced

1 container (8 ounces) mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

3 cups vegetable or chicken broth

3/4 cup farro

1 tablespoon sherry

Black pepper

Directions

Heat butter in a saucepan over medium heat.

Add onions and mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are brown and have released some liquid, and onions are beginning to caramelize, about 8 minutes. Add parsley and cook for another 2 minutes.

Add broth and bring to a boil. Stir in farro and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until farro is tender, adding more water if too much broth evaporates.

Stir in sherry and season with black pepper.

[greenspotblue]

At the green table: Farro Soup With Mushrooms, & Cannellini Beans, or Savory Farro Porridge

This recipe is adapted from one given to me by friends in Florence, Italy.   Farro is an ancient grain that is both delicious and healthy.   Jane Lear has an interesting column discussing farro, including links to several good sources for the grain, which can be found here on takepart.com. The original recipe for this soup was a simple combination of whole-grain farro, fresh porcini mushrooms, Ceci beans and the cooking liquid from the beans, either water, or chicken stock. The soup was prepared over a period of several days. The first day the chicken stock was cooked. The stock and the reserved chicken were refrigerated overnight. Both the beans and farro were soaked in water overnight. The soup was prepared and eaten on the second day. Any leftovers were refrigerated and served on day 3. By that time, however, the farro had absorbed most of the liquid in the soup and it was served as a thick savory porridge. On occasion, ingredients such as the reserved chicken from the stock, roasted lamb, wilted kale, apples, roasted tomatoes or cooked sausage were added to the faro porridge and, perhaps, a fried or poached egg added to the top.

This recipe has been simplified by the use of purchased chicken stock and canned cannellni beans. It still, however, calls for whole-grain farro, and, as such, requires several hours to soak and a bit longer to cook. You can eliminate the soaking time and reduce the cooking time by using farro prelato . Farro prelato or pearled farro has had a portion of the outer bran removed so it cooks faster and does not require soaking. I prefer the taste, texture and health benefits of the whole-grain farro, but farro prelato will also give you an outstanding soup. You can also substitute barley as well.

One thing to keep in mind when you are looking at many of the recipes using farro is that they simply use the word “farro” without mentioning the type. Cooking whole-grain farro for the time intended for farro prelato will just not work. Farro prelato generally cooks in about 15 to 25 minutes.    Whole-grain farro should be soaked for an hour or two and cooked for about 45 to an hour and 15 minutes. The packages should give the appropriate timing. It is also a good idea to taste the farro as it is cooking to determine when it is done to your taste. !

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

Pancetta or bacon, about 2-3 ounces, diced

1 medium yellow onion, chopped, about 1 1/2 to 2 cups, you can substitute 4 leeks, white and light green parts, cleaned and chopped, about 2 cups

1 medium fennel bulb, cleaned, cored and about 1 1/2 to 2 cups chopped

Parsley stems from a bunch of Italian flat-leaf parsley, very finely chopped, about 1/4 cup

3 or 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

3 or 4 anchovy fillets, or about 1/2 to 1/2 oz of anchovy paste, to taste

2 cups of whole-grain farro, substitute farro prelato or barley and adjust cooking time according to details on package

2 quarts of chicken stock, low sodium or home made, you can substitute vegetable, mushroom, beef or lamb stock

2 cups of water

1 sprig of fresh rosemary and several sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves removed and chopped

1 bay leaf

1 16 to 19 oz, can of good quality cannellini beans, drained and rinsed, you can substitute other similar white beans fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley, leaves removed andchopped, about 1/2 cup

For the mushrooms: 1 pound of fresh porcini mushrooms, substitute cremini, shiitake (stems removed) or any mushrooms that you prefer, brushed clean

1 shallot, diced several sprigs of fresh thyme 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced 1 1/2 tsp. unsalted butter 1/4 cup white wine, you can substitute chicken stock, or any other stock that you are using in the soup

Remaining ingredients:

Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Parmigiano-Reggiano, and a rind from the cheese, if available, you can substitute Pecorino Romano, Asiago or any cheese that you like

Method:

Place the farro in a large bowl and cover with about 1 quart of cold water. Let the farro soak for several hours, or over night. Drain and discard the water. (Omit is using farro perlato) In an enameled cast-iron dutch oven, or large stock pot, heat several tablespoons of olive oil. Add the pancetta and sauté over medium heat until the fat is rendered, about 3 or four minutes. Add the onion, parsley stems and fennel, with a pinch of salt, stir well, add olive if necessary and sauté until softened, about 5 or 6 minutes. Add the sliced garlic and anchovy fillets, stir and cook for about 1 minute. The anchovy fillets will dissolve.

Add the farro, stir well so the farro is coated with the oil and cook, stirring, for 2 or 3 minutes. Add 4 cups of chicken stock and 1 cup of water. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce to a gentle simmer. Add the thyme, rosemary and bay leaf, and parmesan rind, if using, cover and simmer for about 45 minutes. (If you are using farro perlato reduce the time according to the package directions, and start checking the farro prelato after 30 minutes.) Stir the soup every 10 minutes and add more stock or water, as needed. The farro should remain loose and suspended in the stock. Check the farro and if necessary continue cooking for a few more minutes until the farro is tender, generally up to 15 minutes. But the time can vary, so it is a good idea to taste a few grains of the farro to determine when it is done to your preference. Taste, season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste Add the cannellini beans, stir and continue to simmer for about 15 minutes. The cooked mushrooms, (next paragraph), can be added at any time after the beans are added.

While the soup is cooking, prepare the mushrooms. Trim the stems (remove if using shiitake) and slice the mushrooms lengthwise. Heat several tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy-bottom sauté or fry pan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, with a pinch of salt, and sauté until they begin to soften and release their juices, stirring occasionally, about 3 or 4 minutes. Add the shallot and garlic, stir and cook for about 2 minutes. Raise the heat to medium-high, add the wine and the thyme sprigs. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 2 minutes to evaporate the wine. Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms are cooked and their juices have evaporated, about 10 to 15 minutes more. Remove from the heat, taste and adjust seasoning, discard the thyme sprigs. Stir in the butter. Add the mushrooms to the soup and stir to combine. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. The mushrooms can be added at any time after the cannellini beans have been added to the soup

Transfer the soup to warm soup bowls, garnish with the parsley, some grated Parmigiano Reggiano and a drizzle of olive oil. The soup can be prepared a day in advance, and thinned out with some chicken stock or water and gently reheated.

You can also serve it as a savory porridge by just gently reheating the thickened soup on the second day. (You can also reduce the amount of stock and water used to cook the faro and serve it as a porridge the day it is made.) As I mentioned above, the porridge can be enhanced with a wide variety of ingredients, such as cooked chicken, roasted lamb, cooked sausages, apples and other fruit, garlic wilted kale, or oven roasted tomatoes. This is a great opportunity to use your imagination and create your own unique dish.

David Chang has a great recipe for a savory porridge using barley, but it will certainly work with farro as well. His recipe is Pearl Barley Porridge with Ham and Eggs. The barley is simmered in chicken stock with apple cider and kombu (edible kelp). The result is an incredible sweet and savory porridge.. Another exciting version of a savory farro porridge is Mourad Lahloyu’s recipe for Toasted Farro and Scallions with Cauliflower and Eggs. This recipe is inspired by a Moroccan porridge called herbel.

[foodpinup]

A hearty soup with a rich mushroom flavor Porcini, Tomato & Farro Soup Recipe from FoodPinup.Find quick and easy Porcini Farro Soup recipes at FoodPinup.