Ayocote Blanco e Farro Minestra – Italian Soup with Beans, Farro, and Vegetables
A nourishing Italian-inspired soup made with ayocote blanco beans, farro, zucchini, spinach, and a Pecorino rind. Comforting, healthy, and perfect for a dreary day.
Lentil Minestrone
There are certain soups that feel like they have been with you forever. This is one of mine. Borrowed and adapted from Deborah Madison, who said it was one of her favorites too. It is hearty and bright at the same time, built from simple vegetables and a pot of stock, but the way it all comes together tastes like much more work than it is.
Lentils are a weeknight friendly bean because they do not need soaking like my usual weekly bean batch
You just throw them into whatever you are cooking with some liquid and about 30 minutes later, they are ready for dinner.
This minestrone is thick, savory, and full of vegetables. It gets better as it sits, and it makes a pot big enough to feed you for days.
Ingredients
Vegetables
1 red pepper, diced
1 yellow pepper, diced
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
2 onions, diced
1 quarter green cabbage, sliced thinly
6 to 8 cloves roasted garlic, smashed
Aromatics and spices
Chili flakes, to taste
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1 teaspoon dry thyme
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 dry mushroom in a spice sack
Tomato base
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
Soup base
1 cup beluga lentils
1 parmesan rind
3 cups Liquid Gold chicken stock
2 bay leaves
Kosher salt and fresh black pepper
Finish
1 cup dry farfallini
1 bunch Swiss chard, chopped
Extra virgin olive oil
Grated pecorino Romano
Instructions
Step 1. Sauté the vegetables
Warm olive oil in a large pot. Add the onion, celery, carrot, cabbage, red pepper, and yellow pepper. Season with salt. Cook until softened and starting to take on a little color.
Add roasted garlic, chili flakes, oregano, thyme, and fennel seeds. Stir to coat the vegetables and let the spices bloom.
Step 2. Roast the tomato paste
Add the tomato paste. Cook, stirring often, until the paste darkens and caramelizes. This step adds real depth to the soup.
Step 3. Build the soup
Add the beluga lentils, 3 cups chicken stock, 6 cups water, parmesan rind, bay leaves, and the mushroom spice sack. Stir well and bring to a boil.
Step 4. Simmer
Reduce heat and simmer anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour. The soup should thicken, and the lentils should become soft and creamy. Taste and season as it cooks.
Step 5. Cook the pasta, then add the greens
After the soup has simmered and the lentils are creamy, stir in the farfallini and cook it directly in the soup until al dente, about 10-15 minutes.
When the pasta is cooked, remove the mushroom sack, thyme sprigs, and bay leaves.
Add the chopped Swiss chard and let it wilt in the hot soup. This takes just a minute or two.
Step 6. Finish
Taste and season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and finish with extra virgin olive oil and pecorino Romano.
Serving Notes
This soup thickens as it sits. Add a splash of stock or water when reheating. It makes a great next day lunch and freezes well too.
Use whatever greens look great at the market. Swiss chard is perfect here, but kale or broccoli rabe work beautifully when they look fresh. Broccoli rabe and kale should be blanched first in water before adding to the soup to remove some of the bitterness.
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