Photo by Tom McCorkle and food styling by Gina Nistico for The Washington Post
This one-pot Chickpea and Farro Stew meal gives you the belly-warming satisfaction of a real comfort food but with a rustic-chic elegance, thanks to the pairing of chickpeas with farro, an ancient variety of wheat that has made a fashionable comeback.
The dish is designed for the pearled or quick-cooking variety of farro; you can use the unpearled kind instead if you soak or par-cook it beforehand.
Chickpea and Farro Stew
Ingredients
3 cups cooked chickpeas, low-sodium, drained and rinsed if canned, divided
3 ½ cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
One 14.5-ounce can no-salt-added diced tomatoes
Sprig of rosemary
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
½ cup pearled farro
2 cups lightly packed baby spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Directions
Place 1 cup of the chick peas and ½ cup of the broth into a blender and puree until smooth.
Heat the oil in a medium soup pot over a medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, but not browned, 6-8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook one minute more.
Add the remaining 2 cups of chickpeas, remaining 3 cups of broth, the tomatoes, rosemary, salt and pepper to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Add the farro, return to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the farro is tender, about 20 minutes. Remove the rosemary sprig. Add the chickpea puree, then stir in the spinach and cook until it is just wilted, 1-2 minutes. Serve garnished with the cheese.
Makes 4 servings
Serving size: 1 ½ cups
Per serving (using vegetable broth): Calories 440; Total Fat: 13g; Saturated Fat: 3g; Cholesterol: 5mg; Sodium: 650mg; Total Carbohydrates: 65g; Dietary Fiber: 15g; Sugar: 15g; Protein: 19g
Copyright 2017 Ellie Krieger. All rights reserved.
