By Martha Rose Shulman
- Total Time
- 2 hours 15 minutes
- Rating
- 5(262)
- Notes
- Read community notes
This is a big, comforting soup — nothing fancy, just a hearty potage with lots of texture and layers of sweet and savory, earthy and vegetal flavors. Serve it to hungry houseguests and children for lunch or dinner.
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Ingredients
Yield:Serves six to eight
- ½pound (1¼ cups) borlotti beans, pinto beans or red beans, soaked overnight or for six hours in 1 quart water
- 2tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1medium onion, chopped
- 1medium carrot, chopped
- 1small celery stalk, with leaves, chopped
- 2teaspoons chopped fresh sage
- 4large garlic cloves, minced
- Salt
- freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1pound green cabbage, cored and shredded
- A bouquet garni made with a bay leaf, a couple of sprigs each parsley and thyme
- 1Parmesan rind, wrapped in cheesecloth or tied together
- 1pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced about 2 cups
- ½cup farro
- Generous ½ teaspoon crumbled dried or 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
- 1(14-ounce) can tomatoes, with liquid, chopped
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
- Freshly grated Parmesan for serving
For the Bean and Farro Soup With Cabbage and Winter Squash
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
175 calories; 5 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 28 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 555 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
For the Bean and Farro Soup With Cabbage and Winter Squash
Step
1
Drain the beans. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven, and cook the onion until it begins to soften, about three minutes. Add the carrot, celery and sage, and continue to cook, stirring, until tender, about five minutes. Add half the garlic, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about one minute. Add the cabbage and ½ teaspoon salt, and cook, stirring often, until limp, about 10 minutes. Add the beans, bouquet garni and 2 quarts water, or enough to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, add salt to taste, reduce the heat and simmer one hour. Stir in the squash, and continue to simmer for 30 minutes to an hour, until the beans and squash are tender. Using an immersion blender, partially puree the soup to thicken it, or puree 2 cups in a blender. (If using a blender, do this in batches and cover the blender with a kitchen towel to avoid hot soup splashing). Return to the pot.
Step
2
While the soup is simmering, combine the farro or wheat berries and 2 cups water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Add ¼ to ½ teaspoon salt (to taste), reduce the heat, cover and simmer until tender, about 45 minutes. If there is water left in the pan, drain.
Step
3
Heat the remaining oil in a medium-size skillet over medium heat, and add the garlic and rosemary. Cook for 30 seconds to a minute, until fragrant, and stir in the tomatoes. Add salt to taste, and cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes have cooked down and the mixture is thick, beginning to stick to the pan and delicious, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir into the soup. Continue to simmer for another 30 minutes. Stir in the farro. Taste and adjust salt, and add lots of freshly ground pepper. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan.
- Advance preparation: You can make the soup through step 1, 2 or 3 up to three days ahead. Refrigerate, then bring back to a simmer and proceed with the recipe.Martha Rose Shulman can be reached at martha-rose-shulman.com.
Ratings
5
out of 5
262
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Cooking Notes
Kevin Osinski
I tweaked my previous pressure cooker method. I sautéed pancetta and onions in an Instant Pot, then carrots, celery, etc as in Step 1. Added unsoaked beans and water and cooked at high pressure for 30 min. Turned off cooker and let cool for 30 min before releasing pressure. Then added squash, cabbage, uncooked farro and tomato mixture and cooked at high pressure for another 12 min. Quick-released pressure and soup was done.
Lois
Lovely soup. I added a bit of sherry at the end. Very Very Good
Kate
As others have mentioned, this recipe benefits from more acidity. I used the juice of one lemon. Half a batch is a lot for 2.I added a Parmesan rind with the bouquet garni, fished both out before blending, and found it pleasing. (The rind is listed in the ingredients, but not the instructions.)If I made this again, I’d skip the carrot/celery/sage in the beginning and use homemade or store-bought veggie broth instead of the water. It would have been more convenient and cost-effective for us.
Rich
Delicious soup--complex flavor. Doing the "Pot of Pintos" to prep the beans reduces the simmering time that's needed. Immersion is not necessary if the squash is cut into small pieces and the cabbage is well shredded. The recipe really has more than 3 steps and would be easier to follow if the text was broken up more.
gunther b
I made this a couple of days ago, even though the temp here (Fresno, CA) has been hovering around 100 degrees. It was divine. I cooked it just as the recipe was written. I will make it year-round.
Kevin Osinski
I used a pressure cooker to save time. I cooked the aromatics (with 4 oz diced pancetta for flavor), then the garlic as directed in Step 1. Then I added the beans, bouquet and 2 qt water and cooked on low pressure for 10 min. I quick-released pressure and added the raw squash and cabbage and simmered uncovered for 30 minutes, then continued the recipe from Step 2. Worked great, and saved an hour.
Sonia Vicinanza
Wonderful! I used homemade chicken broth and canned chick peas. Absolutely delicious! Perfect dinner during our 34F day in upstate New York. Sonia
Anna
I was really looking forward to eating this soup but it was extremely time consuming and a bit underwhelming for the amount of hours put into it. Next time I would maybe use chicken stock, more veggies, canned beans and no farro to create less steps.
Kathleen
Pressure cooker: Great for low carb diets. Dried beans were pressure cooked for 10 minutes, quick release. Then added all other recipe vegetables plus the farro and cooked on the soup/stew setting for 7 minutes. I did a 15 minute natural release. Perfection, no need to use an immersion blender. The soup was thickened naturally. A hearty, filling vegetarian soup.
Betty6672
I was really excited about this soup but we thought it was just so-so. Probably won’t make again
Kyato
My soup did not turn out as pretty as the photo — a bit more yellowish brown.However, this was a good way to use up the pesky cabbage that always ends up in my produce boxes. Cabbage is ubiquitous and cheap in Japan — as are carrots and squash — so this will be a good dish to continue tweaking until it’s right. Sage is hard to find, so had to make due with the dried stuff. I used kabocha since we don’t get butternut squash here.
SonAmy
This took a lot of prep and cooking time for a bland result. The addition of chili powder and white pepper barely made this soup edible.
SonAmy
This soup took a lot of hands-on time and resulted in a bland outcome. The addition of chili powder and white pepper kept it from inedible.
Patricia
I made this soup vegan, with all the ingredients except the Parm. I didn't adhere rigorously to the measurements, and it came out fine. I used some vegie Better than Bullion and pinto beans. Added lots of parsley at the end along with a little balsamic and some lemon juice. Very good.
Laura Nak
This is a complicated recipe but the result is lots of flavor. I used canned pintos and some leftover roasted squash. Otherwise I made no substitutions. Very good.
Nate
Wait, what were we supposed to do with the rind in the cheese cloth?
Gail
This soup is a big, wonderful bowl of comfort. It has all the right notes and textures for a cold, rainy Friday night ( or any other). I didn’t have squash so I used two good sized turnips. I also used veggie stock. Following the suggestions of others, I tied the Parmesan rind up with the bouquet garni. I liked the ideas of adding some sherry or lemon juice. So I tried sherry vinegar. It gave a nice tang to all the richness of the soup. Husband had two large bowls and was very happy.
Srikanth
I don't think this recipe should be labeled vegetarian. Parmesan sold as such (as a block, with a rind) is almost certainly going to have been made with rennet
Shevawn
There is Parmesan that is made in the US that is vegetarian. I personally don’t think it is as good but it is good enough. I generally have to ask for it and not all stores carry it. It uses enzymes rather than rennet.
Leslie J
Very good and makes a lot! I followed @Kevin Osinski's Instant Pot method, with a few modifications: 1) first roasted a blue hubbard squash and scraped out the flesh, 2) mashed some of the cooked beans before adding the squash, finely shredded cabbage, tomatoes, and 3/4 c farro. No need to blend. Added a splash of sherry wine vinegar and served topped with a squeeze of lemon, toasted croutons, EVOO, and parm cheese, then ate 3 bowls!!!
Rich
Delicious soup--complex flavor. Doing the "Pot of Pintos" to prep the beans reduces the simmering time that's needed. Immersion is not necessary if the squash is cut into small pieces and the cabbage is well shredded. The recipe really has more than 3 steps and would be easier to follow if the text was broken up more.
Molly D
Fantastic recipe that deserves time in order for it to fully develop. I added more tomatoes than it called for by accident but it was a good mistake. Added the rind with the adding the beans step. I also followed comments and added in half-a-lemon juice. Paired with a nice crusty loaf and I’m in new-England fall cooking heaven. Utilizes so many things that are in season here in Connecticut!
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