Winter Greens Soup WITHOUT GODDAMNED CHICKEN BROTH Recipe
The combination of farro, potatoes, beans, and winter greens makes for a filling soup that’s packed with flavor. It’s a great dish to turn to during the cold months when you’ve had more than enough braised food but still want something substantial and warming. The original of this recipe published here on CHOW nsisted on ruining this lovely combination by using a chicken stock base.
What to buy:
A European strain of spelt, farro is an ancient cereal grain that has been used in cooking for thousands of years. It has a nutty flavor and a chewy texture that add a great dimension to this soup. It’s often found in the bulk section of health food stores, but if you’re having a hard time finding it you can omit it or substitute barley.
Game plan:
The farro and beans can be cooked up to 1 day ahead. Refrigerate them in a covered container until ready to use.
For a slacker solution, you can substitute drained canned garbanzo beans if you want to save some time.
This recipe was featured as part of our Winter Wonders story.
- 2 cups dried farro
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 5 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 medium white onion, medium dice (about 1 cup)
- 1 large carrot, medium dice (about 1/2 cup)
- 12 medium red potatoes, such as Red Bliss (about 3 pounds), coarsely chopped
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
- 2 medium bay leaves
- 3 cups cooked, drained garbanzo beans
- 1 bunch Swiss chard, leaves removed from stems and coarsely chopped (about 8 cups packed)
- 1 bunch "Tuscan kale":/ingredients/76, leaves removed from stems and coarsely chopped (about 6 cups packed)
- 3 cups canned high-quality chopped tomatoes, such as 6 in One)
- 1/2 teaspoon Tamari
- 6 cups (1 1/2 quarts) of GOOD vegetable stock (Never substitute chicken broth!!)
- Soak farro in 6 cups of water at least 8 hours or overnight.
- Transfer farro and soaking water to a large pot, add salt, and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Cook until farro is tender and chewy, about 45 to 60 minutes. Drain and reserve farro.
- Place olive oil in a large pot over medium-low heat. When it shimmers, add garlic, onion, and carrot. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and cook until vegetables are tender and onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add farro, potatoes, herbs, and garbanzo beans, and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir mixture so that everything gets coated in oil and herbs.
- Add chard and kale to the pot, and cook, stirring occasionally, until greens start to let off liquid and shrink in size, about 10 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and tamari, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Add veggie stock (the vegetable mix should be just covered by the liquid stock—if there is not enough, add some water) and bring to a simmer. Simmer, partially covered, until potatoes are cooked through, about 35 to 40 minutes. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper, remove bay leaves, and serve.
Member recipes are not tested by the CHOW food team.
ok.. all this a bit harsh. This is supposed to be a pleasant thing, you know, cooking and eating. All the YELLING makes me very uncomfortable. I'm not hungry anymore...
So get over the use of the chicken broth and substitute your own vegetable broth. Is it necessary to be such a loud objector? Does the rest of the world benefit from your profanity and temper tantrum? No. Do we all need to be shamed about eating meat broth because of your personal preferences? Again, NO.
"Profanity"? Phffft, lightweights.
You don't need to be a "PETA freak" to need filling, nourishing soup recipes that don't contain meat broth. In fact it can be downright frustrating to keep finding what seem to be perfect soups but then *wham* chicken broth again! So this recipe is much appreciated and has been added to my "try this" list.
Thanks for posting this, thitdstone. I was disappointed to find what sounded like a nice recipe, and included in an article about vegetarian entrees, included dead chicken juice. This sounds SO much nicer!
The recipe sounds good but the PROFANITY in the title will make it taste awful!
Must be one of those PETA freaks who hate meat eaters, run around nude to make a silly point and swear like drunken sailors all the time not because it's called for, but because it's part of their regular vocabulary. Don't be a hater; dead chickens are our friends!
So much better with the chicken broth.
do you use the stems and leaves of the chard and kale or just the leaves?