FARRO FARRO EVERYWHERE

bitter greens & farro soup & bonus farro salad

It’s been a wild February so far. Typically I try to round out my schedule with as much down time and alone time as possible, in an effort to maintain my mental stability. This has been pretty much impossible in this first week of the shortest month. If I’m being honest, it’s been impossible for the first six weeks of the year. However, I am not on the verge of a breakdown. In fact, this restlessness has forced me to get creative and find different ways to achieve inner peace and calm in the presence of others (sometimes while simultaneously running errands). Lately, I’ve spent more time away from my phone, which makes de-stressing easier for me. It’s nice to get back into being fully present in the company of friends and strangers. I feel more connected to others and to myself. It feels more natural to be offline -  it takes me back to a time long gone, before these cancer boxes arrived on the scene and ruined humanity. 

I’ve been craving and brainstorming this soup for a while. The flavor that happens when bitter greens are floating in chicken broth is my favorite thing to eat and I think about it nearly constantly. I have a hard time not including bitter greens in every soup that I make. Because this soup is essentially greens and chicken, I needed a grain that was bringing a little more to the table. Enter farro. The nuttiness and texture of the grain stands out beautifully in this recipe. With all of the hectic activity last week I wanted to have something quick and easy but also soothing. This soup has few ingredients and takes very little preparation. It tastes incredible while being clean and simple and will make you feel good and cared for even if you make it for yourself, by yourself.  

BITTER GREENS & FARRO SOUP

2 chicken breasts 
4 tbsp. olive oil 
1 bunch frisée, chopped
1 bunch broccoli rabe, chopped
2 cloves garlic, grated
8 oz farro
3 – 4 quarts chicken broth

Season chicken with kosher salt and let sit in the refrigerator for 1 – 24 hours. Bring chicken broth to a simmer and poach the chicken breasts until they have reached an internal temperature of 165°. Place the chicken in a bowl and pour the chicken broth over it. Place the bowl in the refrigerator uncovered for an hour, or until it is cooled enough to handle. Shred or pull chicken into spoon-sized pieces. In a pot of heavily salted water, simmer farro covered for 20-30 minutes, until it becomes tender. Strain and set aside. In a Dutch oven, heat olive oil and add greens. Cook down the greens until they are completely wilted, then add garlic and salt. Continue to sauté until the garlic starts to become translucent. Add poached chicken, chicken broth, and cooked farro. Bring soup to a boil then lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Salt to taste. Serve with olive oil and red pepper flakes. 

And another thing

If you have a strange aversion to cooking half a box of anything, like I do – here is a little salad recipe that you can make with your leftover farro. It’s bright and light. Perfect for lunch and a very easy way to use up some fridge and pantry items.

A zippy little farro salad

2 cups cooked farro
1 poblano pepper
2 celery ribs
½ cup castelvetrano olives
2 scallions
1 clove garlic, grated
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 tbsp. fresh dill
2 tbsp. fresh basil or parsley

Dice all the veggies. Put everything in a bowl together. That’s it. Eat it.

Thank you to everyone who came out to my pop-up with Crustworthy over the weekend. A huge thanks to Chloe for partnering up with me, and to the Refillery for hosting us. Thank you for pre-ordering and picking up, it was so wonderful to see everyone. I would also like to thank The Thyme Machine for endless amounts of help and space and cheeseburgers, and Gina at Linea Verde Green Market for selling off the excess soups. If you didn’t get an opportunity to get soup from me over the weekend, more pop-ups will be coming soon. If you simply cannot wait,  place a small batch order with me (which can be done by sending me a message on Instagram, or emailing me at brothmonger@gmail.com.) My menu is my Instagram feed and turnaround time is typically 2 - 3 days. 

Also, I was on tv last week. If you’d like to see me on Pittsburgh Today Live, here is the clip. Thanks to CBS Pittsburgh for having me, Susan. It was a blast. 

Love yinz
-the BMer