Luccan Farro Soup (Mark Bittman)

A hearty winter soup from Mark Bittman. He tasted it on a recent trip to Lucca, a town in Tuscany. If you don't have farro, you can substitute with spelt or barley. The recipe was printed in New York Times (Dec. 18, 2008). You can also add a Parmesan rind for more flavour. Enjoy!

• Ready In: 1 hr 45 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2  tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1  large onion, sliced
• 2  celery ribs, trimmed and chopped
• 2  carrots, peeled and chopped
•  salt and pepper
• 1  tablespoon  minced garlic
• 1  cup  whole farro or 1  cup  spelt or 1  cup barley
• 1  cup dried white bean, soaked for several hours or overnight
• 2  cups chopped tomatoes (canned are fine, do not drain)
• 6  cups  stock or 6  cups water, more as necessary
• 1⁄4 cup  chopped fresh parsley
• 1⁄4 cup  chopped fresh basil (optional)
•  freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Put oil in a large, deep saucepan over medium heat; a minute later add onion, celery, carrots, a large pinch of salt and some pepper. Cook until vegetables are glossy and onion is softened, 5 to 10 minutes. Add garlic, and stir; add farro, beans, tomatoes and stock, and stir.
2. Bring to a boil, then adjust heat so mixture simmers steadily. Cook until farro and beans are tender, at least an hour, adding stock or water as necessary if mixture becomes too thick. Stir in parsley and basil (if using), then cook another 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning, then serve with lots of Parmesan.