Chestnut, Farro & Porcini soup

• Vegan
• Gluten free
• Paleo

• Produce

  • 1 Carrot, small
  • 1 Celery stick, small
  • 80 g Farro or spelt berries, Pearled
  • 1 Garlic clove
  • 1/2 Onion, medium
  • 200 g Porcini mushrooms, fresh or frozen
  • 3 Rosemary needles
  • 1 Sage, leaf

• Canned Goods

  • 1 tbsp Concentrated tomato puree
  • 250 ml Vegetable stock

• Baking & Spices

  • 1 Salt & pepper

• Oils & Vinegars

  • 1 generous tbsp Olive oil
  • 1 Olive oil, Extra Virgin

• Nuts & Seeds

  • 15 Chestnuts

Found on hortuscuisine.com

Description

Ingredients

• 1 small carrot, finely minced
• ½ a medium onion, finely minced
• A small celery stick, finely minced
• 80g Pearled farro or spelt berries
• 200g fresh or frozen porcini mushrooms, or 10-15g dried mushrooms
• 15 chestnuts
• 1 tbsp concentrated tomato purée
• 250 ml / 1 cup vegetable stock, plus more if needed
• A garlic clove
• A sage leaf
• A few rosemary needles
• 1 generous tablespoon of olive oil
• Salt & pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil, to garnish

Directions

• First, make sure to soak the farro: overnight is ideal, but 6-7 hours will do. Pre-cook it in plenty of boiling water for 40 to 50 minutes, depending on the quality of the farro. It will still be al dente.
• Soak the porcini in warm water. Let them sit for 2-3 hours and, once ready, strain and reserve the liquid.
• Roast the chestnuts: preheat the oven to 400 F˚ / 200 C˚. Make an indentation into each chestnut, and arrange them cut side up on a baking sheet. Roast in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes, until fragrant and until the shell crisps up and comes off easily. Peel them once the chestnuts are cool enough to handle.
• All of the above can be done a day in advance.
• Add the oil, the sage leaf, rosemary and garlic to a pot. You can either finely mince these, or leave them whole and remove them once they released their aroma in the oil. Stir-fry on low for 2-3 minutes, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add the minced carrot, onion and celery, and let them sweat until translucent and aromatic, about 5 minutes. Add a splash of stock or water to the soffritto if it threatens to stick.
• If using fresh porcini, wipe off the dirt with a damp cloth or with a special mushroom brush, and cut them into small cubes. If using dried porcini, roughly chop them. Add the porcini to the stir-fry, and mix well.
• chop some of the chestnut kernels, and mash some others. Add them to the pot, along with the tomato paste, stir well and cook for 5 minutes. At this point, if you decided to leave the sage and garlic whole, fish them out of the pot. Season with pepper, and about ½ tsp salt (but adjust according to the kind of stock you are using).
• Add the stock and adjust the heat to low to get the soup to a steady, low simmer. After about 20 minutes, add the pre-cooked farro. Cook for 10 more minutes, stirring every now and then, and more stock if it dries up too much. The soup should be thick, but feel free to add more liquid if you fancy a soupy consistency. Adjust salt and pepper to your liking.
• Once the soup is ready, garnish with some good extra virgin olive oil - possibly, some olio novello (new oil) if you have it!
• This is the kind of soup that only tastes better the day after, and freezes wonderfully, so feel free to make a double/triple batch.