Farro and Bean Soup
Martha Rose Shulman
1212 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
1,212
About 2 hours, plus soaking of the beans and farro
Soupe au Pistou
- Total Time
- 2 hours 30 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:Serves: Six to eight
- 1½cups white beans, soaked for six hours in 6 cups water and drained
- 2quarts water
- 1large onion, chopped
- 4large garlic cloves, minced or pressed
- A bouquet garni made with a few sprigs each thyme and parsley, a Parmesan rind and a bay leaf
- Salt to taste
- 1tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2leeks, white and light green part only, cleaned and sliced
- 1pound tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped, or 1 14-ounce can, with liquid
- 2cups shredded savoy or green cabbage
- 2large carrots, diced
- 2celery stalks, diced
- 1medium-size zucchini, scrubbed and diced
- 2medium-size turnips, peeled and diced
- ½pound green beans, trimmed and broken into 1-inch pieces (about 2 cups), blanched for five minutes and set aside
- ½cup soup pasta, such as macaroni or small shells
- Freshly ground pepper
- 2large garlic cloves, halved, green shoots removed
- Salt to taste
- 2cups, tightly packed, fresh basil leaves
- ⅓cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½cup freshly grated Parmesan
- Freshly ground pepper
- ½cup freshly grated Parmesan for sprinkling
For the Soup
For the Pistou
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
413 calories; 17 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 47 grams carbohydrates; 11 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 21 grams protein; 1290 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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For the Soup
- Step 1
Drain the white beans and combine with 2 quarts water in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil. Skim off any foam, then add half the onion, half the garlic and the bouquet garni. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes. Add salt to taste.
- Step 2
Heat the olive oil in a heavy skillet, and add the remaining chopped onion and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until tender, about five minutes. Add the leeks and remaining garlic. Stir together for a few minutes, and add the tomatoes. Cook, stirring, until the tomatoes have cooked down slightly and the mixture is fragrant, five to 10 minutes. Stir this mixture into the soup pot, add all of the remaining vegetables except the green beans, and bring back to a simmer. Cover and simmer over low heat for 45 minutes to an hour. Taste and adjust the seasonings.
- Step 3
While the soup is simmering, blanch the green beans for five minutes in salted boiling water. Transfer to a bowl of ice-cold water. Drain and set aside.
- Step 4
To make the pistou, mash the garlic with a generous pinch of salt in a mortar and pestle. Remove it and set aside. Grind the basil to a paste in the mortar, a handful at a time, then add the garlic back in and mix together well. Work in the olive oil a tablespoon at a time, then stir in the cheese.
- Step 5
Add the pasta to the simmering soup about 10 minutes before serving, and cook until cooked al dente. Add pepper, taste and adjust salt. Stir the blanched green beans into the soup and heat through. Serve, adding a spoonful of pesto to each bowl for guests to stir in. Pass additional Parmesan for sprinkling.
Tip
- Advance preparation: The soup can be made through step 2 up to two days ahead, and definitely benefits from being made a day ahead. Refrigerate overnight, then bring back to a simmer and proceed with the recipe. The blanched green beans will keep for two or three days in a covered bowl in the refrigerator. Martha Rose Shulman can be reached at martha-rose-shulman.com.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Arline
This is soooo good, I'm surprised there aren't more comments. Quite versatile. Try adding mushrooms, tomato paste, rosemary, thyme in adidtoin to the bouquet garne
Lorna
Made this with the first fresh green garden beans. Will probably be better as leftovers the next day. Also used barley as it survives being reheated better than pasta. That is how we had it in Provence at a little bed and breakast we stayed at. Very close.
Kathryn
Take extra time to fully cook the turnips. Prepared as directed they are still crunchy.
Lois Fox
Made this soup tonight with Rancho Gordo Marcello beans and cooked everything per the recipe-except added more broth towards the end--it was delicious, well worth the time and effort. The best pistou soup I have ever made.
j martin
Summer in a bowl. I carefully cut all of the vegetables into 1/2" cubes. Lovely with a bread, cheese, pate board. This is a great version. I adjusted ingredients slightly to what was available from our local Farmer's market...lady cream peas, fresh navy beans, small new potatoes, etc. Didn't use cabbage, turnips, pasta, personal preference. The pistou makes the soup and gives the broth a light green color. Very light and fresh.
Karin
***** Fantastic soup, easy to make, especially if you use canned beans (and skip the first step). Everyone loved it. I've put it on my list with easy recipes for large groups ;-) Will definitely make this again.
Laura in Oakland, CA
If you’re searching for the best version of this soup you can stop right here. We made this exactly as directed, used turnips, no crunchiness. Also went for the barley. I broke my ceramic mortar and pestle last year after 40 yrs. of use. Cuisinart or any other whirly machine gives a decent pesto. It’s a must! Ribbolito tomorrow! Thank you, MRS, for your wonderful recipes. I don’t think you get enough credit for the precision, freshness, and outstanding results of your professional oeuvre.
Smash
This was so delicious and a pretty accurate duplicate of a home cooked version I had last week in Menerbes. I added a few other bean varieties to match theirs, and a potato and fennel bulb for good measure. The result is filling and delicious.
Casey F
Love the barley tip from Lorna - though the barley took 1.25 hrs to cook separately so start cooking it at the start of the soup. Used a can of canellini beans instead of making from scratch and added the bouquet garni with the broth instead; supplemented the veg with some frozen peas at the end. Forgot the zucchini but didn't miss it (can turn into a mushy mess in soups). Reheated it was excellent with a bit of extra water.
FrancesNapa
Excellent recipe. I am going to keep this on repeat. I used Rancho Gordon Flageolet beans, and they were perfect because when cooked they were firm while still being soft.
themarshal
Excellent soup. Used frozen peas, no turnip or zucchini. Had cooked some beans a couple days ago so used about 2 cups of those and 2 quarts of water.
Virginie de Provence
Probably good, but please don’t call it soupe au pistou!
Leslie
I liked this mild soup, but wish the pesto were more forceful. A lot more garlic.
Laura in Oakland, CA
If you’re searching for the best version of this soup you can stop right here. We made this exactly as directed, used turnips, no crunchiness. Also went for the barley. I broke my ceramic mortar and pestle last year after 40 yrs. of use. Cuisinart or any other whirly machine gives a decent pesto. It’s a must! Ribbolito tomorrow! Thank you, MRS, for your wonderful recipes. I don’t think you get enough credit for the precision, freshness, and outstanding results of your professional oeuvre.
Maria Cate
Totally agree about Martha Rose Shulman! Her recipes are always my favorites on NYTimes Cooking.
mae
Ok, I agree. I overlooked Martha for the longest time but not any more. The last three recipes of hers I've made have been out of this world. Thank you MRS!
Sarah H.
Love this! Easy to play with ingredients. I used 2 cans of great northern beans. Sautéed carrots, celery, yellow pepper, and a bulb of fennel after the onions. Added about 10 ounces of baby bella mushrooms to the sauté, then added the leeks and garlic. Seasoned with 2 tsp basil, 1/2 tsp thyme, 1/4 tsp sage, 2 bay leaves, and parm rind. Replaced turnips with 3 golden beets. Roasted them so I was sure they were done, so added with them and 2 TBS tomato paste with pasta. Yummy!
Wilma
Lovely lovely soup. Perfect fall dinner with sides of peasant bread, Brussel sprouts, caramelized acorn squash and sweet potato and a dessert of Fuji apples with caramel dipping sauce. (Did not use turnips added extra zucchini)
Nan
Delicious & forgiving. Using what I had on hand, used golden beets instead of turnips, no celery but chopped chard stems and a store bought pesto to top each bowl. I used some chicken stock and needed to add water to suit. Served with corn muffins. A keeper for us!
Karin
***** Fantastic soup, easy to make, especially if you use canned beans (and skip the first step). Everyone loved it. I've put it on my list with easy recipes for large groups ;-) Will definitely make this again.
Casey F
Love the barley tip from Lorna - though the barley took 1.25 hrs to cook separately so start cooking it at the start of the soup. Used a can of canellini beans instead of making from scratch and added the bouquet garni with the broth instead; supplemented the veg with some frozen peas at the end. Forgot the zucchini but didn't miss it (can turn into a mushy mess in soups). Reheated it was excellent with a bit of extra water.
Byron
Delicious and more importantly, the kids liked it. Didn't have turnips, and didn't really miss them. It could use more than the 1/2 cup of pasta, but then you'd need to add more water.
Sara
I have adapted this amazing soup to my summer garden by omitting the beans & pasta, using fingerling potatoes as the 'starch'.I zap up the flavor by using bone broth as my base, adding 8-10 ounces of tomato sauce if I have left over in the fridge or whiz up a jar of plum tomatoes in a blender. When sauteing onion, I add a couple of small thinly sliced leeks and a blend of dried herbs&spices: marjoram, thyme, parsley, coriander, turmeric, a dash of fennel seeds. Maybe its no longer a pistou lol
hicountryho
I love this but it made way too much to eat right now - can it be frozen?
.
Take extra time to fully cook the turnips. Prepared as directed they are still crunchy. This is soooo good, I'm surprised there aren't more comments. Quite versatile. Try adding mushrooms, tomato paste, rosemary, thyme in addition to the bouquet garni
Smash
This was so delicious and a pretty accurate duplicate of a home cooked version I had last week in Menerbes. I added a few other bean varieties to match theirs, and a potato and fennel bulb for good measure. The result is filling and delicious.
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