Rainbow chard and farro soup

Tamara West

Farro is the Italian name for an old wheat variety. I have used farro perlato (pearled farro), which will cook in 20 minutes. Farro has a nutty flavour and distinctive chewy texture. You could also use pearl barley. The rainbow chard can be substituted with silverbeet or try combining with spinach, curly kale or cavolo nero. If using cavolo nero remember to pull away its central stem as it can be coarse.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp	Olive oil
2 cloves	Garlic, chopped
1 pinch	Chilli flakes
2	Carrots, peeled and cut into 1cm pieces
2 sticks	Celery, lightly peeled with a vegetable peeler
1	Onion, diced
1	Potato, large, peeled and cut into 1cm pieces
1	Leek, use white part only, well washed and finely sliced
2 Ltr	Vegetable stock, or chicken stock, heated
1 cup	Farro, use farro perlato / pearled farro (Main)
2 Ltr	Chicken stock, or vegetable stock, heated
350 g	Rainbow chard, roughly chopped (Main)

Herb butter

100 g	Butter, softened
1 clove	Garlic, crushed
1 pinch	Chilli flakes
2 Tbsp	Parsley, fresh leaves

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large heavy-based saucepan. Add garlic and chilli flakes and warm to flavour the oil. Add carrots, celery, onion and leek and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add potato, farro and hot chicken stock, bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, again stirring occasionally.
3. Add rainbow chard and simmer for a further 10 minutes. The vegetables should be cooked and the farro swollen but with a little bite. Taste, adding salt and pepper if necessary.
4. Serve soup hot with crusty bread and herbed butter (to make, mix together ingredients above) if wished.