Farro and Bean Soup: The Farro Recipe to Learn First
The farro here is emmer, Triticum dicoccum (farro medio in Italy), the hulled wheat that the Garfagnana valleys north of Lucca have grown without interruption and that in 1996 became a protected geographical indication, Farro della Garfagnana IGP. The dish that shows what it is for is farro simmered with beans in a single pot until the soup is thick and creamy. Farro holds its shape and keeps its chew through a long simmer, and that chew in a creamy bean broth is the point. The farro guide covers the grain itself. This recipe is the one to make first.
Two things matter. The first is that half the beans are puréed and go into the broth, so the soup thickens itself and needs no cream, flour or potato. The second is the grain. Pearled farro, farro perlato, has most of its bran polished away, so it needs no soaking and is tender in about twenty minutes at sea level. Semi-pearled or whole farro will work but takes longer, so read the label first. How to Buy Farro explains the grades. At Denver's altitude water boils at about 203°F instead of 212°F, so every simmered grain takes longer, and the timings below cover both.
Ingredients
For six as a main, about two and a half quarts.
- 200 g (1 cup) pearled farro, such as Agribosco organic farro perlato (shop Agribosco organic farro perlato), rinsed
- 3 cups cooked borlotti or cannellini beans, plus 1 cup of their cooking liquid; or two 15 oz cans, drained, plus 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) extra virgin olive oil, plus more to finish; an oil such as Capezzana (shop Capezzana) suits it
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, finely chopped
- 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, sliced
- 1 sprig rosemary, or 4 sage leaves
- 1 cup (240 ml) tomato passata
- 6 cups (1.4 L) water or light vegetable broth, plus more to loosen
- 1 Parmigiano rind (optional)
- Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
- Soffritto, slowly. Warm the oil in a heavy pot over medium-low heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery with a pinch of salt and cook for 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft and translucent. Do not let them brown.
- Garlic, herb, tomato. Add the garlic and rosemary and cook 1 minute, until fragrant. Add the passata and simmer 5 minutes, until it darkens a shade and the oil turns orange at the edges.
- Purée half the beans. Blend half the beans with the cup of bean liquid until smooth. Keep the other half whole.
- Add the farro. Add the purée, the water and the rind to the pot and bring it to a simmer. Stir in the rinsed farro and a teaspoon of salt.
- Simmer to a chew. Cook uncovered at a gentle bubble, stirring every few minutes, because the purée settles and can catch on the bottom. Pearled farro takes about 20 minutes at sea level and 20 to 25 in Denver. Start tasting at 15. It is done when the grain is tender all the way through and still chewy, with no chalky center.
- Whole beans last. Stir in the whole beans and simmer 5 minutes more. If the soup is thicker than loose porridge, add hot water a half cup at a time. Taste for salt, since canned beans and broth both vary.
- Rest and finish. Take the pot off the heat, cover it and let it rest 10 minutes. Remove the rind and the rosemary stem. Serve in warm bowls with a generous thread of raw olive oil and black pepper, and bread for the bottom of the bowl.
Timing: sea level and Denver
| Farro on the label | Soak? | Simmer at sea level | Simmer near 5,000 ft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pearled (perlato) | No | 15 to 20 min | 19 to 25 min |
| Semi-pearled (semiperlato) | Optional | 20 to 25 min | 25 to 31 min |
| Whole | Overnight, 8 to 12 hours | 30 to 40 min, soaked | 38 to 50 min, soaked |
The Denver column adds roughly a quarter to the sea level times, an estimate borrowed from Colorado State University's guidance for meats simmered or braised at 5,000 feet, not a tested time for grains. Colorado State University Extension notes that dry air at elevation also makes moisture evaporate faster during cooking, so keep hot water at hand to loosen the pot. Taste the grain rather than trusting the clock. For whole farro, add the soaked grain before the purée and give it a 15 minute head start in the water.
Why it went wrong
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Grain still hard after 30 minutes | The bag was semi-pearled or whole, not pearled; or the altitude | Keep simmering and add water as needed. Next time, check the label and use the timing table |
| Scorched bottom | The bean purée settled and caught | Lower the heat and stir every few minutes. Do not scrape the scorched layer into the soup |
| Thin and watery | Too few beans puréed, or too much water | Blend a ladle of the soup and stir it back in, or simmer uncovered 5 minutes more |
| Solid the next day | Farro keeps absorbing liquid as it stands | Loosen with hot water when reheating. This is expected |
| Flat | Undersalted, or no raw oil at the end | Salt in stages, and finish every bowl with raw oil |
Notes and variations
The beans. Home-cooked beans give better broth, and their cooking liquid is worth saving. The method is in how to cook heirloom beans. Without tomato, the soup is paler and more about the grain. Leave out the passata and add a second rosemary sprig. Greens: a handful of chopped cavolo nero or kale, stirred in with the whole beans, makes it a complete dinner. Leftovers keep three to four days in the refrigerator. From the same bag: pearled farro boiled like pasta in plenty of salted water, drained and dressed warm with oil, lemon and herbs becomes the base of grain salads for the week.
The farro, the oil and the rest of the shelf are at 263 Josephine Street in Cherry Creek, Denver, and ship nationwide from theambrosianpantry.com.
Sources & Further Reading
- Colorado State University Extension, Food Smart Colorado: High Elevation Food Preparation Guide
- USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service: High Altitude Cooking
- Qualigeo: Farro della Garfagnana IGP
- Agraria.org: Farro della Garfagnana IGP
- The Pantry Dispatch: Farro, The Complete Guide
- The Pantry Dispatch: Cooking at Altitude
