Spelt Soup

Ingredients

• 300 g Spelt
• 250 g Borlotti beans
• 1 Onion
• 1 Carrot
• 1 stalk Celery
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 200 g Tomatoes
• 4 leaves Sage
• 1.5 l Vegetable broth
• 5 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp Salt
• 0.5 tsp Black pepper
• 30 g Parmesan cheese

Steps

1. If using dried borlotti beans, soak them overnight, then simmer in unsalted water for about 1 hour until tender.
2. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid.
3. Rinse the spelt under cold water and set aside.
4. Finely chop the onion, carrot, and celery.
5. In a heavy pot, warm 4 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil and gently sweat the soffritto with the crushed garlic over low heat for about 15 minutes, until soft and golden but not browned.
6. Add the peeled tomatoes, crushing them with a spoon, and the sage leaves.
7. Cook for 10 minutes so the tomato loses its raw edge and the soffritto deepens in colour.
8. Set aside a ladleful of beans, then blend the rest with some of their cooking liquid into a smooth purée.
9. Stir the purée and the whole beans into the pot.
10. Pour in the spelt and enough hot vegetable broth to cover by two fingers.
11. Season with salt and pepper, bring to a gentle simmer, and cook uncovered for about 35 to 40 minutes, stirring now and then and adding broth if it thickens too much, until the spelt is tender but still chewy.
12. Turn off the heat and let the soup rest 5 minutes.
13. Serve warm in bowls, finishing each with a generous thread of raw extra-virgin olive oil, a grind of black pepper, and grated Parmesan if you like.

Tips

• Tuscan farro is traditionally semi-pearled (semiperlato), which cooks in 35–40 minutes without long soaking; whole farro needs an overnight soak and longer cooking.
• A small Parmesan rind dropped in with the broth melts slowly and adds remarkable depth to the soup.
• The soup thickens as it stands and is even better the next day; loosen with a little hot broth when reheating.