Fall and Farro Fagioli

I love everything about fall.  I love when it starts to get a little darker earlier.  I love when the temperatures drop so you can wear a sweatshirt comfortably and the mosquitos are no longer are a problem.  I love the foods that are associated when talking about fall: apples, root vegetables, soups, warm delicious comfort dishes!  I even love racking the leaves once a year, notice how I said "once," after that it's maybe not so much a "love" anymore.

This week it turned fall officially and the temps started to reflect the fall time coming around.  This can only mean one thing at our house, soup time!  Now even though I love all sorts of soups and love the heavy comfort dishes at times, I went with a lighter yet filling soup, Farro Fagioli.  

I'm sure you've heard of Pasta Fagioli soup, which means "pasta and beans."  It's a popular soup at Olive Garden that people love, that is typically made with pasta, beans, veggies, chicken broth and sometimes with meat.  I felt that even though it is now officially fall and I'm getting just as excited for sweater season and getting my "sweater figure" ready, I think you can still have a hearty healthy dish that is filling, and even (gasp) Vegetarian.

Look at that delicious bowl of healthy amazing soup right there!  Sorry, I didn't mean to throw the healthy card out there for all those people that think healthy = "no taste, boring, bland."  I don't want to scare those people away.  Please stay with me!!!

First we start with some Farro.  What?!?!?!  What did you just say? Are you talking crazy talk right now?  No I'm not crazy, this delicious grain has been around for a LONG time and is part of the ancient grains that give you great bang for your buck.  It has more fiber than rice or quinoa, and also it is reasonably high in protein for a grain, along with all the wonderful vitamins and minerals that it contains.  You can find it in your health food section in most grocery stores.  It tastes similar to barley, so if for some reason you can't find it, just use barley.  It will still be delicious. 

First we start off by cooking the farro.  Add the water, salt and farro in a medium saucepan and stir to combine.  Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low and simmer until farro is tender, about 25 minutes.





This is what it looks like when it's done.  Yes, it's kind of foamy and frothy on the top of the pan but don't worry, it tastes delicious.





So why you are waiting for your farro to cook, you can dice up your onions, carrots, celery, and minced garlic and throw that with the olive oil in a medium/ large stock pot.  You are going to sauté that for about 4-5 minutes until it is fragrant and onions are translucent.





You will want to open your can of beans, and rinse them before putting them in your soup.





Once the veggies are nice and fragrant you are ready to add in the rest of the ingredients.  Add in the beans, diced tomatoes, veggie stock, spices, and extra water.





Stir it all around and bring to a boil and let simmer for about 10 minutes until veggies are fork tender.





After that discard the bay leaves,



Add in the cooked farro, and taste.  Add salt and pepper to taste. 





As you can see there's not a ton of extra liquid in the soup, so if you would like more, add more water/ vegetable broth to your liking.  I enjoy more of the stew type soup.





And just like that you have dinner ready.  Pair it will a sandwich, salad, or some fruit and you've got a complete meal. 

Farro Fagioli:

1 c. farro

2 c. water

1 tsp. Kosher salt

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 c. white onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 celery stalk, diced

2 medium carrots, peeled and diced

1 15oz. can cannellini beans

15 oz. can diced tomatoes

2 large bay leaves

1 Tbsp. basil, dried

1 tsp. thyme leaves, dried

1 tsp. oregano leaves, dried

32 oz. can of vegetable broth

2 cups water

Salt and Pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan add the farro, water, and salt and stir to combine.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce to medium low heat, and simmer until farro is tender, about 25 minutes.  Set aside.  In a deep stock pot, sauté the onions, carrots, and celery with the garlic in olive oil over medium heat until fragrant and onions are translucent, about 4-5 minutes.  Add beans, crushed tomatoes, bay leaves, basil, thyme, oregano, vegetable broth and 2 cups of water to stock pot and bring to a slow boil.  Let simmer for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.  Remove bay leaves, and discard.  Add in cooked farro, take off heat and stir.  Add up to 1 cup of water/ vegetable broth if you need more liquid.  Salt and Pepper to taste.  Enjoy!

-Cool