This hearty one-pot meal couldn't be easier, and it makes for simple cleanup. Look for pouches of precooked farro either on the grain aisle or in the frozen food section of your supermarket.
First of all, no water. Why would anyone put water in a soup? Used Imagine vegetable broth. Cooked my own farro (much cheaper that way & so easy), cooked a piece of bacon, and used the drippings to saute the vegetables, put spices into vegetables for 15 seconds before adding stock and tomatoes. Added the crumbled bacon, lemon rind, and fresh basil to the parmesan as a topping. Made the soup in the morning, then added the farro and chard right before dinner (otherwise the farro will absorb the water and you'll get gruel). With that--absolutely amazing! This recipe makes a lot. Delicious and filling.
This soup was easy to put together on a busy weeknight. Great flavor, not sure if I'd title it "Smoky" but it has a delicious, subtle heat making the flavor super satisfying. Equally satisfying is the fiber. A little goes a long way, recipe makes plenty for leftovers when feeding two or three. Because I didn't have some things on hand, the changes I made were: omitted celery, dried parsley instead of fresh, chicken broth instead of veggie broth, omitted green onion. Felt barley might be a good sub for farro, although farro was amazing. Worth a try, great recipe! This will become a staple for us.
This is a fabulous soup. Whole family loved it and I will be making this one regularly.
We absolutely love this. Have made it 4 times and counting. Kids eat it. Healthy and wonderful.
Delicious! The smoked paprika chiefly contributes to the distinctive flavor. Don't substitute.
Farro, chickpea and chard are a winning combination! I've made it twice, served it to a large group of people who enjoyed it as well. I've never been disappointed with a Deborah Madison recipe. 😊
Thank you to 'Cooking Light' for publishing this recipe in their May 2015 magazine.
