This is a lovely winter dish, hardy, easy to make and sure to warm you up on a cold day! Minestrone is usually made with pasta. Making it with farro, an ancient Italian wheat version, makes for a hardier and very tasty version!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of dry farro
- 1 leeks, diced
- 2 large carrots, diced
- 2 celery ribs, diced
- 1 small bunch of kale, stripped of stems and chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, pressed
- 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 jar/can of tomatoes (15 oz)
- Vegetable stock or bouillon
- 1 can of beans of your choice (I used cannellini beans in this version) drained and rinsed(15 oz)
- Salt
- Fresh herbs of your choice: cilantro, parsley, marjoram, sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano
- Red pepper flakes
- Zest of 1-2 lemons
- Fresh ground parmesan (optional)
Preparation:
- Pre-cook farro. Because the grain takes a while to cook, you will want to pre-cook it, otherwise all the veggies will turn into mush by the time the grain is done. You can do this at any time, today I did it in the morning while talking to my sister on the phone: In a medium sauce pan combine farro with 3 cups of water. Cook for 30 minutes (not until done!), drain, set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large pot and leeks, carrots, celery, and garlic and saute for 10 minutes at low temperature.
- Add stock or bouillon, 4-5 cups, add more liquid if soup needs thinning
- Add chopped herbs and red pepper flakes
- Add farro, tomatoes and beans, simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes
- Add kale and lemon zest, simmer for 2 more minutes
- Season with salt if needed
- Add grated parmesan if desired.
