Rich and hearty, this farro soup from Denise Powers demands just as personality-driven a cheese. Emily's choice is bright orange – but not for reasons you'd think! Caroline, meanwhile, goes for a Southern French red with a ton of herbaceousness.
Zuppa di farro, farro soup, soup d’épeautre recipe:
Ingredients
1 c of dried borlotti beans
3/4 c of farro (spelt), rinsed
3-4 pieces of pancetta (in France, I use lardons in a pinch); vegans can drop this altogether
1 carrot, diced
1 onion, diced
1 branch of celery, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 fresh sprig of rosemary, minced
6 sage leaves, minced
1 good sploosh of tomato paste (if I have those 70 ml cans, I use the whole can; otherwise, a rounded tablespoon)
1 pinch of ground cloves
2 pinches of ground cinnamon
a generous grating of fresh nutmeg (a teaspoon)
a palmful of dried marjoram
salt
olive oil (for cooking)
olive oil (for drizzling--optional)
Cook the beans until tender in a litre or so of water. You can soak them overnight and then cook the next day for 2-3 hours or cook them in a pressure cooker for about 45 minutes (15-minute slow release).
Strain the beans and reserve the cooking liquid. Puree about half the beans (I use a stick blender or just mash them up until it's mostly mush with some whole beans or bean pieces still recognizable). Set aside.
In a heavy-bottomed stock pot, sauté the pancetta in olive oil to render the fat, then cook the veggies, garlic, sage, and rosemary until soft and fragrant, about 10-15 minutes. Add the tomato paste and blend thoroughly with the veggie mixture, allowing all the flavors to meld for about 5 minutes. Then add the beans and some salt, mixing thoroughly so that it's all a kind of pinkish paste. Cook for a couple more minutes.
Add the bean cooking liquid, the dry spices and the marjoram. Stir thoroughly until the mixture has an even consistency. Add water if necessary. Bring to a boil, then reduce the flame to a simmer and add the farro. Cover and cook until the farro is soft, about 30 minutes if you're using pearled farro, closer to an hour if you're using the whole grain version.
Add salt and pepper to taste. Finish with a dash of nutmeg and serve with a drizzle of olive oil (infused with pepperoncini for a kick)
This is even better the next day when the flavors have had time to set. Add water as necessary to reheat. It also freezes well.
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Credits
Host: Caroline Conner https://www.parisundergroundradio.com/carolineconner; Website: www.winedinecaroline.com, www.lyonwinetastings.com
Host: Emily Monaco https://www.parisundergroundradio.com/emilymonaco; @Emily_in_France. Website: http://www.tomatokumato.com, http://www.emilymmonaco.com
Producer: Jennifer Geraghty https://www.parisundergroundradio.com/jenniferfoxgeraghty; @jennyphoria; Website:
