Fabulous Fiberlicious Farro

An ingredient that I started noticing in restaurants lately is farro, a grain used often in Mediterranean dishes, especially hearty Italian soups. But in restaurants I’ve seen it also in salads and as a risotto, and I think it’s mostly because of its healthy features that make this whole grain popular.

I think because of its healthy aspect, I might have shied away from it thinking it might be boring. Then I saw a recipe in a magazine by Mario Batali for a vegetable farro soup. (First I had to find farro, and it’s not easy to find. Finally bought it in my own backyard at the Pasta Shop in Market Hall in Rockridge.) Although the soup turned out to be a bit bland, I fell in love with farro.

It had a wheat berry flavor that was nutty and filling. But really, it was more how farro made me feel. For the next few days, I felt like my whole digestive system was running smoothly. Not to be crude, but I just felt like I had my daily serving of fiber and then some.

So I decided to come up with my own soup recipe featuring farro along with some other ingredients I found at the farmers market. One of them was this brilliant orange fall squash. It’s huge and beautiful, and luckily the farmer sold it pre-cut in huge slices, so I bought one to add to the soup. And to make it even more healthy, I added curly kale, perfect for the season.

This soup is easy to make and quite filling, and just perfect for the rainy days we’ve been having lately. Enjoy!