Farro Soup

FARRO SOUP

(4 servings / 2 hours and 30 minutes)

Utensils
Pan
Wooden spoon
Vegetable mill
Casserole
Pepper mill
 

Ingredients
500 g of fresh pinto beans (200 g if dried)
200 g of farro
150 g of extra virgin olive oil
50 g of lard
2 ripe tomatoes
1 rib of celery
1 red onion
1 carrot
1 clove of garlic
1 spring of sage
1 spring of rosemary
Salt and black pepper

Preparation
•    Stew the fresh beans in hot water for about one hour and in case of dried beans, let them in the water for 12 hours, stew for about 3 hours.
•    Drip them and keep the broth apart.
•    Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a pan and brown minced lard, tomatoes (peeled and without seeds), rib of celery, onion, carrot, garlic, sage, rosemary,  and salt and pepper at last.
•    Add the stewed beans and mix well.
•    Wash the farro under running water, after having let it in the water for at least 12 hours.
•    Pour the broth of  beans in a casserole and cook the farro on a moderate flame and in an uncovered pot for at least 1 hour, checking its density.
•    Move the soup into a tureen and let it stand for half an hour before serving.

Presentation
Serve with generous amount of  ground pepper and extra virgin olive oil poured raw.

Kids partecipation
Young assistants, could wash the farro, learning about grains. They could strain the beans, without any serious risks.

Comments
Comfort food for winter season  farro soup, known already at Romans’ time, is a peasant dish, of popular and agricultural tradition typical of Tuscany cooking. Farro soup is tasty and energizing, excellent for facing cold climate.

Nutritional and cultural curiosities
Farro is very tasty and gives energy without making heavy, has a great hypoallergenic properties,  so it is tolerated by people with food intolerances. It is always used for soups, polenta, bread and focaccia.  

Useful tips
Broth is turned into soup by pouring it on toasted or stale homemade bread, rubbed with garlic.