Make Ahead

Umbrian Farro Soup (Umbra Zuppa di Farro)

Name: Umbrian Farro Soup (Umbra Zuppa di Farro)
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 2 h
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 cup yellow onion, medium chop; 3/4 cup celery, medium chop; 1/2 cup carrot, medium chop; 2 cloves garlic, smashed, peeled, and minced; 2 1/2 ounces dried porcini mushrooms; 2 cups tomato sauce; 3 cups cooked farro, al dente; 1 quart beef stock

by: dymnyno

September 21, 2013

3.3 3 Ratings

Umbrian Farro Soup (Umbra Zuppa di Farro)

Photo by Rocky Luten

Prep time 1 hour
Cook time 1 hour
Serves 6

Jump to Recipe

Author Notes

Being a huge lover of farro, on a recent trip to the Umbrian countryside of Italy I noticed that farro soup was on many menus. I tried it and decided that I had to make my own version. It is very important to use the richest, most delicious beef stock, preferably homemade. The intense flavor of the porcini make this a very umami centric flavor profile. —dymnyno

Test Kitchen Notes

We love how this rich, savory soup combines cooked-down tomatoes, porcini mushrooms, and beef stock, without the heaviness of cream or butter. (Plus, it's flexible: add more broth if you like, to thin out the soup to your taste, or leave it as-is!) Dymnyno cleverly uses farro two ways: First, as a thickener for the soup. Second, as a garnish to dollop on top.

This recipe was featured in "Umami Five Ways, Coming Right Up." —The Editors

Test Kitchen-Approved

What You'll Need

Ingredients

1 cup yellow onion, medium chop
³/₄ cup celery, medium chop
¹/₂ cup carrot, medium chop
2 cloves garlic, smashed, peeled, and minced
2 ¹/₂ ounces dried porcini mushrooms
2 cups tomato sauce
3 cups cooked farro, al dente
1 quart beef stock

Directions

Sauté the onions, celery, and carrots until translucent.
Heat 1 cup of the beef stock and add the porcini to reconstitute.
In a blender (or Vita Mix), blend about 3/4 of the vegetables, the garlic, 1 cup of the cooked farro, and all of the porcini and liquid until smooth.
Add back to the pot and add the remaining farro,vegetables and beef stock. Add 2 1/2 cups of tomato sauce. Season and simmer for 30 minutes.
Serve with a dollop of farro and a couple grinds of fresh black pepper.

Tags:

Contest Entries

See what other Food52ers are saying.

AntoniaJames
healthierkitchen
em-i-lis
dymnyno

Popular on Food52

7 Reviews

AntoniaJames January 29, 2014

This looks fantastic. You've inspired me! (First, I need to make a batch of rich beef stock, but of course, for this, it will be well worth the effort.) ;o)

healthierkitchen January 18, 2014

Made this tonight and it was quite delicious! The texture (and flavor) is reminiscent of pappa al pomodoro, but with more bite from the farro. If I had a truffle, I'd have shaved it on top!

dymnyno January 18, 2014

If I had a truffle, so would I!

em-i-lis January 14, 2014

Oh, I just love the sound of this. My sister just brought me pounds of farro from Italy (so much cheaper there!). I will have to make this ASAP!

healthierkitchen September 22, 2013

This sounds delicious. Do you use a homemade seasoned tomato sauce or are you using a passata or something that is just tomato?

dymnyno September 23, 2013

I use homemade unseasoned tomato sauce.

dymnyno September 27, 2013

Passata would also work.

Make Ahead