Tonight I made a Creamy Farro and Chickpea Soup for dinner that I found as I was searching through one of my humongous cookbooks–The Essential New York Times Cookbook.
I love making soup, especially during the colder months. Soup is so comforting, simple to prepare, and makes for great leftovers. Most homemade soups are also very healthy and this soup is no exception. The chickpeas (garbanzo beans) and farro really make this soup nutritious. The chickpeas are pureed to thicken the broth and to give the soup a creamy texture. As a note, give yourself adequate time to prepare this soup. The dried chickpeas & farro must be soaked overnight. Additionally, the chickpeas must be cooked for about an hour and a half. But the good news is, after the chickpeas are cooked the rest is easy-peasy to prepare. If you really want to simplify this recipe, you can save a lot of time by using canned chickpeas. Also, as the ingredients list suggests, if you do not have Farro you can use hulled barley in its place.
My family and I thought that this soup came out wonderful. I loved the creaminess that the chickpeas contributed and the chewiness of the farro. If you are using dried beans, it does take a bit longer to prepare…but I think it is worth it. I will certainly be making this soup again and I am already anticipating the leftovers that I will be having tomorrow. Enjoy!
Creamy Farro and Chickpea Soup
serves 4.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup dried chickpeas, rinsed, picked over and soaked overnight in water to cover
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon chopped prosciutto (I used more)
- 1 tablespoon minced celery
- 3/4 cup farro or hulled barley, rinsed and soaked overnight in water to cover
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
- 2 pinches freshly grated nutmeg
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- chopped flat leaf parsley for garnish
Directions
- Drain the chickpeas and place in a medium saucepan. Cover with plenty of cold water and bring to a boil. Add the sea salt and bay leaves, reduce the heat, and cook, covered,until the chickpeas are very soft, about 1 1/2 hours.
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add the onion, celery, and prosciutto and cook gently for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft but not brown.
- Drain the farro and add it to the onion mixture, along with the chicken broth, marjoram, and nutmeg. Cook, partially covered, for 1 hour.
- Drain the chickpeas, reserving the cooking liquid; discard the bay leaves. Puree the chickpeas with 1 cup of the reserved liquid in a food processor. Add the pureed chickpeas to the farro mixture; if necessary, add more of the cooking liquid from the chickpeas to achieve the consistency of a creamy soup.
- Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Wait for 10 minutes before serving.
- Sprinkle each portion with chopped parsley and a drizzle of olive oil.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
This sounds really good. I didn’t really know what farro was….but if it’s like barley, I’d love it!
I was also unsure what faro was but now that I know, I definitely want to try this soup! I love chickpeas in any form so I’m sure they’d be awesome in soup. I love their texture and flavor mmm!
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