T’Amo Pio Farro: Variations On A Spelt Soup
I realize that it has been quite a while since I posted something other than bread. But, truly, saying I now live on bread and water is not a huge exaggeration.
Lately I grew out of some of the food I was eating before, like meat. And reduced considerably also all other sources of animal-based food, like milk, eggs, cheese and fish. You may now call me a lacto-ovo-pesco vegetarian. With vegan tendencies.
When I am not eating bread, then, I am most likely eating whole grains and legumes and as many fresh vegetables I manage to have at hand. Last week I made two delicious spelt-based soups which I now want to share with you – vegetarian or not (scroll-down for the recipes – anche in italiano!).
SPELT AND RED LENTILS SOUP
you need: 2 dl (3/4 cup) spelt grains, 1 dl (ca 2/5 cup) dried red lentils, 5 dl (2 cups) water, a few bay leaves, 4-5 cloves garlic, dried hot peppers (whole or ground), 2 table-spoon extra virgin olive oil, marine salt.
how to: stir-fry the garlic, halved, with the chopped hot peppers (the amount depends on how spicy you want it – I like it HOT). Add the spelt and the bay leaves and a couple of table-spoon water and let simmer for a couple of minutes. Add the rest of the water and cover. Cook for about 35 minutes, then add the lentils and let cook for further 15 minutes. Season and drizzle with olive oil.
ZUPPA DI FARRO E LENTICCHIE ROSSE
ti servono: 2 dl farro in chicchi, 1 dl lenticchie rosse secche, 1/2 l acqua, qualche foglia di alloro, 4-5 spicchi d’aglio, peperoncino, cucchiai olio evo, sale marino.
come fare: fai un soffritto leggero con l’aglio, olio e peperoncino a piacere (a me piace PICCANTE). Aggiungi il farro e le foglie di alloro e fai insaporire un paio di minuti. Aggiungi l’acqua, copri e cuoci per 35 minuti. Aggiungi le lenticchie e fai cuocere altri 15 minuti. Aggiusta di sale (e di peperoncino) e irrora con il rimanente olio.
SPELT AND GREEN LENTILS SOUP WITH SPICY CHANTERELLE
you need: 1 carrot, 2 celery stalks, 1/3 celery root, 1 onion, 5-6 garlic cloves, dried hot peppers (whole or ground), 1/2 pound fresh chanterelle (or other mushrooms), 2 dl (3/4 cup) spelt grains, 1 dl (ca 2/5 cup) dried green lentils, 1 dl (ca 2/5 cup) dried black-eyed beans, 7-10 dl (3-4 cups) water, 3-4 bay leaves, extra virgine olive oil, marine salt.
how to: peel the carrot, the celery root and the onion, dice or slice all the vegetables (including the celery stalks) and gently stir-fry on medium heat with a little olive oil + 3-4 table-spoon water, until veggies are slightly softened. Add the spelt, the lentils, the beans, the bay leaves and let simmer for a couple of minutes. Add remaining water and cover. Cook for 45-50 minutes and season toward the end of the cooking, adding more water if needed. Meanwhile, sautee the washed, rinsed and roughly chopped chanterelle with a little olive, 2-3 cloves of garlic and some chopped hot peppers or hot peppers spice (the amount depends on how spicy you want it – I like it HOT). Once the spelt soup is ready, transfer in bowls, drizzle with olive oil and place a good spoonful of the spicy chanterelle on top.
ZUPPA DI FARRO E LENTICCHIE VERDI CON GALLINACCI PICCANTI
ti servono: 1 carota, 2 gambi di sedano, 1/3 sedano rapa, 1 cipolla, 5-6 spicchi d’aglio, peperoncino, 250 g gallinacci freschi (o altri funghi), 2 dl farro in grani, 1 dl lenticchie verdi secche, 1 dl fagioli secchi (io ho usato fagiolo nano dolico dall’occhio), 3-4 foglie di alloro, olio evo, sale marino.
come fare: lava, pulisci e affetta tutte le verdure e fanne un soffritto leggero con un po’ d’olio e un po’ d’acqua. Aggiungi il farro, le lenticchie, i fagioli e le foglie di alloro e fai insaporire un paio di minuti. Aggiungi l’acqua, copri e cuoci per 45-50 minuti. Nel frattempo, fai appassire i funghi (puliti, asciugati e ridotti in grossi pezzi) con un po’ d’olio, 2-3 spicchi d’aglio e peperoncino a piacere (a me piace PICCANTE). Verso la fine della cottura aggiusta di sale (e di peperoncino) la zuppa e aggiungi acqua se necessario. Impiatta, irrora di olio e completa con i funghi piccanti.
CONSIDERATIONS: If you ask me, I could not say which soup I liked the best. Both exalt the goodness of spelt, “this ancient grain with a bright future” (I am quoting Hanne Risgaard, who grows spelt). The first one is so simple and uses so few ingredients that one really has no excuse to make it from scratch. And even in its simplicity, I tell you, it shines. The hot pepper gives it all the umami it needs, so much that you will not miss the animal fat (generally pork shortage) which was traditionally added to this type of dishes in Italian cuisine. But no. Some honest Italian hot pepper truly does the trick. The second soup is slightly more complex and it gives you the added flavor and taste of the root vegetables and of the mushrooms. Again, the spicy mushrooms provide all the flavor needed to complete this peasant soup. What a sultry meal. Call it vegan, if you like.
CONSIDERAZIONI: Ragazze, chi ha mai detto che i piatti vegan devono essere noiosi e includere sostanze esotiche come la soia o il latte di mandorle? Queste due zuppe contadine a base di farro e legumi sono una meraviglia e non ti fanno assolutamente sentire la mancanza degli scarti di maiale che tradizionalmente le nostre nonne e bisnonne ci mettevano (quando li avevano). T’amo fortissimamente t’amo pio farro, cereale antico e modernissimo che non mi stanco piu’ di gustare. Alla salute!
With this recipe I participate to the event No Croutons Required hosted by hosted by Lisa’s Kitchen and Tinned Tomatoes.
Barbara Elisi
Latest posts by Barbara Elisi (see all)
- On Precision Scales, Dreams and Starting a Bakery - December 9, 2018
- Purple Sweet Potato Super-Soft Rolls - July 2, 2017
- IBS-Friendly Diet and Gluten-Free Gnocchi - June 24, 2017
I love your description of the meal as sultry!! I totally respect your new way of eating and you make it very appealing. These soups sound so, so good.
that one of my favorite English words 🙂 thank you for the understanding and for the appreciation.
Holy moly. This looks amazing- great photos! I love a soup with a good crusty bread. My favorite italian soup is hands down Ribollita… this looks like it would provide the same amount of comfort levels 🙂
nice to meet you Mallory, and looking forward to discover your lovely blog. Ribollita is the queen of peasant soups! feel honored by the comparison.
Both soups look so healthy and nourishing! I’m glad you stopped long enough to share these with us!
thanks Barbara, I am glad too now that I managed to make myself to write something else than bread 🙂
Brilliant!!
ulalla… hi there 🙂
Farro, legumi, lenticchie piccanti…ah che darei per questa zuppa scaldacuore oggi 🙂 E quel pane? Mi ci è caduto subito l’occhio sai su quei bei buchi :D! Un bacio, buona giornata
un bacio a te e grazie per la visita.
That is absolutely gorgeous, especially the first soup! I wonder, where do you buy your spelt grains in Sweden – could you give a tip please? I LOVE hot peppers and even grow my own at home, and always have red lentils on hand – so now I just need to get my hands on the spelt and this will get made!
thank you Veronika, so good you are thinking of trying this, it’s as tasty as it sounds. You can find the spelt (dinkel) in any good ICA or COOP. generally they have it in the flours sections, but sometimes it can also be in the quality grains and seeds section (where they have all the stuff from risenta and sålta kvarn).
it is packaged like the flours (mine is from Sålta)
A ME MI PIACE UN MONTE, UN SACCO, UN SACCHISSIMO BARBARA!!!
e lo so che non si dice amemi, ma in questo caso ci voleva un rafforzativo entrante ed entrante bene!!!
Che bella che sei con queste zuppe… mi fai venire voglia anche a me, ora vado a casa e provvedo!!!!
ciao tesoro!
Sandra
Soups are always welcome, especially in Autumn! I like to add Farro to my soups too, I think that is better than adding pasta (flavour and texture). There are so many delicious recipes that you can discover now that you are a “lacto-ovo-pesco vegetarian. With vegan tendencies”. Share them with us, please!
These soups look so tasty and hearty. I am a huge fan of soups and always like to try new ones. One I find the spelt grains I will try this. And I love to eat fresh bread with soups like your pictures shows. It’s the best… Thank you for these recipes!
It look so hearty and delicious.
Definitely gonna try it very soon, thank you. Next one is bread soup? 😉
Soups!!!!!!! They all look delicious and perfect for the weather. Confession to make…. I’m not sure if I’d be able to find spelt here or perhaps i just didn’t know 😉 I will have to check Whole Foods. But looking at the photos, it look like quinoa or similar to barley? I will let you know. Oh, what is this? taking a break from your bread baking? 😉
hi Pia!
barley is basically spelt, so go for it. quinoa would not be right in this type of soup.
ps: no vacation from bread baking only a short one from bread posting 😉
I am stunned by the quality of your photography. You do take incredible pictures. I was almost going to grab that cup of soup. This is a very healthy and nutritious one. Brava!!
Ha! was at Vince and Joe’s today and checked for spelt, they only have the spelt flour ;( . I love barley, actually make barley soup and red lentil soup for my residents but never thought of combining them both. I’m going to give your version a whirl. 😉
Seriously I could live on bread and water (tea for me) too. The spelt soup looks delicious!
Both of your soups sound delicious.
oh yummmmm!
As a soup aficionado I find myself wanting this soup right now. I just had lunch and am not even hungry so that’s how good this soup looks to me! Delish! I love this blog 🙂
Hello breadandcompanatico.com administrator, Your posts are always well-referenced and credible.
Dear breadandcompanatico.com admin, Your posts are always well researched and well written.
To the breadandcompanatico.com owner, You always provide great resources and references.
Hi breadandcompanatico.com owner, Keep up the good work!
Dear breadandcompanatico.com admin, You always provide in-depth analysis and understanding.
Hi breadandcompanatico.com administrator, Your posts are always well researched.
To the breadandcompanatico.com admin, Your posts are always well-supported by research and data.
To the breadandcompanatico.com webmaster, Thanks for the well-researched and well-written post!
Hello breadandcompanatico.com webmaster, Your posts are always well-structured and logical.
To the breadandcompanatico.com webmaster, You always provide in-depth analysis and understanding.
Dear breadandcompanatico.com administrator, Your posts are always informative.
To the breadandcompanatico.com admin, You always provide great insights.