I’m officially back in the land of the living, if the land of the living is a place where people sleep for 20-hour stretches at a time, cry at random intervals and only eat weird bites found under the glowing lights of the refrigerator at 3 in the morning. I’m afraid this post is going to sound incredibly dramatic, but I feel like the two and a half weeks of my life have, in fact, been pretty dramatic, so I hope you can indulge me and just believe me when I say that my trip to Everest base camp was…hard.
I should, of course, acknowledge that I am the luckiest person in the world to get to do trips like this, and this one in particular. Last week I was standing at the bottom of Mount Everest, visiting baby yaks in their stone pastures and generally finding myself surrounded by the most eerie, intense and surreal scenery that I think exists on earth. And I feel so grateful and even impressed that my body was able to get me there, walking 12 to 24 kilometers a day in very tough terrain, with almost no altitude sickness. I seem to have mostly sacrificed my right knee, but I think this is a small price to have paid.
I expected this trip to be a kind of “reset button,” and it was, but instead of pressing the reset button and then sorting out my thoughts on the trail as I thought I would, it feels more like the reset button completely broke off and set me adrift in an alternate universe, where I felt so far away from my own life that I forgot who I was, without any of the things that define me and at peak physical exhaustion. And it’s followed me home. I’m not doing a very good job of describing this very odd feeling, but it’s not something I’ve ever experienced and I don’t really know what it means for me going forward. I’m trying to be kind to myself and let myself ease back into my “real life” while I process all of this.
ANYWAY. I have been eating a record number of potatoes, eggs, rice and lentils and an all-time low amount of fresh anything, and I am so excited to have delicious food at my fingertips. Also, meat that is reliable to eat. Autumn is my absolute favorite time of year, including the food, and as long as I feel up to it, I am braising some stuffed cabbage this weekend and making an apple pie. But in the meantime, please accept this recipe for farro soup, which is one of the most nourishing things a person can eat. I made it a few weeks before I left in anticipation for fall, and if I had just a little more energy at the moment, you can bet I’d be in the kitchen whipping up a pot of this magical healing elixir right now.
I'm usually a big proponent of using whatever storebought broth you like in soups, if you don't have time to make your own. But this is a very simple soup, so it's important to use something you either make yourself or buy a good-quality prepared one!
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 carrots, peeled, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
- 4 ribs celery, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
- 2 large yellow onions, quartered, 4 quarters each stuck with 1 whole clove
- 2 leeks, white and light green parts only, washed, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
- Stalks and feathery leaves from 2 fennel bulbs (reserve bulbs for another use)
- 4 cloves garlic, lightly crushed with the flat side of a knife blade
- 10-12 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley, including stems, coarsely chopped (2 cups lightly packed)
- 4 sprigs fresh marjoram
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 16 cups water
- 2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt
- 2 cups pearled farro, rinsed and drained
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, passed through a garlic press
- 1 teaspoon kosher or sea sealt
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- Generous pinch of red pepper flakes
- Best-quality extra-virgin olive oil for serving
- 10 large fresh basil leaves, cut crosswise into fine strips (chiffonade)
Instructions
- First make the broth. In a Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add all the vegetables, garlic, herbs and peppercorns and saute, stirring from time to time, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the vegetables have softened and the onion is pale gold.Raise the heat to medium-high, pour in the wine and let it simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the water and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently, uncovered, for 45 minutes. The broth is done when it has reduced slightly and has a full flavor. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt.
- Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve lined with damp cheesecloth into a clean container. Use the back of a wooden spoon to press down on the solids, extracting as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids. Let the broth cool to room temperature.
- Place half of the farro in a blender and process for 30 to 45 seconds, or until it is coarsely chopped or "cracked." Repeat with the remaining farro.
- In a Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute it for 5 minutes, or until slightly softened. In a small bowl, mix together the garlic and salt to form a paste. Add the paste to the onion, stirring to incorporate it thoroughly. Stir in the farro and saute for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the onion is translucent and the farro is thoroughly coated.
- Dilute the tomato paste in 1 cup of the broth and add it to the pot. Pour in 7 more cups of the broth (you may have leftover broth) and season with red pepper flakes. Raise the heat to medium-high and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover partially and simmer for about 40 minutes, or until the farro is tender but still pleasantly chewy.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt. Ladle the soup into shallow bowls and finish with a drizzle of your best olive oil and a sprinkle of basil.
Notes
https://www.thekitchenchronicles.com/2018/10/25/cracked-farro-soup-zuppetta-di-farro-spezzetato/
