Farro and Vegetable Soup

By Martha Rose Shulman

Total Time: About 3 hours
Rating: 4(201)
Notes: Read community notes

This thick, hearty meal is inspired by a traditional Provençal harvest soup. Farro (spelt) and the softer emmer wheat are grains that were once peasant staples in the mountainous areas of Provence, though they are less common now. Traditionally, the grain is simmered with a mutton, prosciutto or ham bone. I use Parmesan rinds to enrich the flavor of this version.

Featured in: Soups With Grains

Learn: How to Make Soup

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Ingredients

Yield:Serves six to eight

1½cups farro (spelt), rinsed
1ounce (about 1 cup) dried porcini mushrooms
1tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1onion, chopped
½pound carrots, chopped
2celery stalks with leaves, chopped
½pound cabbage, shredded or finely chopped
2 to 4large garlic cloves, to taste, minced
A bouquet garni made with a bay leaf, a few sprigs of thyme and parsley, and a couple of Parmesan rinds, all tied in a cheesecloth
2tablespoons tomato paste
2½quarts water, chicken stock or vegetable stock
Salt
freshly ground pepper
¼cup chopped fresh parsley
2ounces Gruyère cheese, grated ½ cup Parmesan may be substituted

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Soak the farro just covered in water for one hour or longer. Drain.
Step 2
Meanwhile, place the dried mushrooms in a bowl or Pyrex measuring cup, and pour on two cups boiling water. Let them sit for 15 to 30 minutes until softened. Place a strainer lined with cheesecloth or paper towels above a bowl, and drain the mushrooms. Squeeze over the strainer, then rinse in several changes of water to get rid of any sand. Chop coarsely and set aside.
Step 3
Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven. Add the onion. Cook, stirring, for three to five minutes until it begins to soften. Add the chopped carrots, celery and cabbage, and cover. Turn the heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring often, for five to 10 minutes until the mixture is tender and fragrant. Add the garlic, and cook, stirring, for a minute until fragrant. Add the soaked mushrooms and their liquid, the farro, bouquet garni, tomato paste and the water or stock. Bring to a boil, add salt, reduce the heat, cover and simmer one hour until the farro is tender and the soup fragrant. If it seems too thick, thin out with more water or stock. Add pepper, and adjust salt. Remove the bouquet garni, and stir in the parsley. Serve, passing the cheese for sprinkling.

Tip

Advance preparation: The soup can be made a day or two ahead, but don’t add the parsley. If it thickens too much overnight, add a little water and reheat. Adjust seasonings. Add parsley just before serving.

Ratings

4 out of 5

201 user ratings

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Cooking Notes

Gretchen Fischer5 years ago

Delicious. I loved the farro and so did my grain averse husband. I didn't have cabbage but did have kale. The grating of gruyere is brilliant. I had a turnip in the fridge and added it too. It is an inspirational recipe. Have fun with it...as I did.

HBN6 years ago

I felt like it needed a little something more, so I sauteed some mushrooms and a shallot and added them - it definitely gave it more depth. Oh, and a few shakes of soy sauce as well.

DG6 years ago

I made this soup when I heard snow was predicted. It was time consuming but well worth it. I used canned red beans that were rinsed to remove any starchiness. I just soaked the farro for an hour. I shared some with a neighbor and friend. Everyone loved it! I will definitely make this again.

debby6 years ago

Definitely the problem. For that I would have added 15 minutes beore the end.

Kate4 years ago

This is very satisfying, thanks to the hearty chew of the farro. It is a great pantry staple as well, as there are no exotic ingredients. If you don’t have good veggie stock in your freezer and no time to make your own, miso works very well here. Omitted the cabbage in favour of kale as it is what I had on hand. Will become a staple.

Caroline3 weeks ago

Hearty, yummy, soup. I made it almost exactly as described, but I couldn't get dried porcinis! I used fresh trumpets instead. I enjoyed this soup, but may reduce the amount of farrow next time. It expanded overnight and kind of took over the vegetables and mushrooms.

scones5 months ago

Added spinach a fresh tomato

Orbit1 year ago

This was delicious and satisfying. We used unsalted chicken broth and supplemented with 2 tsp kosher salt later. At the end of cooking, we found it tasty but lacking some dept; we added 1 mounded Tbsp black olive tapenade and 1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper (coarsely groubd) and those did the trick. The shredded Gruyere evoked French onion soup in a wonderful way. This recipe definitely is a keeper!

Agnes1 year ago

I made this vegan by adding some nutritional yeast & a tablespoon of white miso paste for extra umami & saltiness. Delicious!

audrey1 year ago

Delish, satisfying, easy. Didn’t get tired of the leftovers!

audrey2 years ago

Good, easy. Next time I’ll ease Ups little in the porcini. She’s a keeper all right.

aks2 years ago

This has been in my recipe files for a long time but I finally made a point to make it, and it is delicious. The porcini and the bouquet garni with parmesan rinds adds a richness that is surprising for a vegetable soup. I did find that it required a great deal more liquid than the recipe indicates, actually more than twice as much, and it’s still so thick the next day that it has required even more water.

Mary J2 years ago

Used barley because farro is impossible to find in suburban NSW, Australia. Texture was wonderful but taste was very bland. I followed the recipe exactly and I made my bouquet quite large with three Parmesan rinds, parsley, lots of tyme, rosemary and two bay leafs…still not enough to add flavour. Used red cabbage and colour was beautiful. I do agree that a $6.50 package of dried porcini mushrooms were wasted on this. I won’t make this again but I’m glad I tried it.

Dolores2 years ago

Delicious! Added diced pancetta. Definitely use Gruyère not Parmesan

jbb2 years ago

used kale from my garden as I had no cabbage. Also threw in some parsnips from garden, why not.

Noodle2 years ago

Love this recipe, especially for a larger crowd of family coming in for the holidays. Nutritious and delicious. I let everyone add their own amounts of salt and spices to their bowls bc everyone has different tastes.

Michele2 years ago

Green beans, not cabbage. Fresh mushrooms and miso instead of Parmesan cheese rind. Delicious. Gave it a 5!

Sarah2 years ago

This is so delicious but you cook the veggies to death. I would soak way longer or cook the farro separately in the broth and add the veggies later. Saute/steaming and then boiling for an hour is overkill for any vegetable.

professorb girl3 years ago

This was delicious. I substituted brown rice for the faro and used broccoli and a few Lima beans and in the liquid 1 cup of cream and velveeta instead of gruyere. Yum

Jenny3 years ago

This was a very basic tasting soup, with very expensive porcini mushrooms. Definitely did not look like picture. I added shallots as suggested as well as a few shitake mushrooms. But, the flavor was still very basic.

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