Last Sunday, after the horrendous “meal” I cooked on Saturday, I decided to keep it simple. It was rainy and kinda chilly, so, after a lovely brunch and a quick jaunt up to Trader Joe’s for olive oil (blissfully, there was no line!), I trotted home and set to making a springy soup.
I had ramps, baby mustard greens and baby bok choy left over from my trip to the farmer’s market the previous day, so, that was my base. I started off with a traditional mirepoix, just with the luxurious addition of ramps. Generally, unlike this woman, I, and others, prefer my “weeds” lightly cooked so I can taste their bitter, springy greenness. But in this case, I threw them right in with the onions and garlic.
I did what I had to do, I caramelized the ramps, deglazed with lemon and vermouth, stirred in chicken stock, garlic and sage chicken sausages, and some free range chicken thighs and let the whole thing bubble away for hours. Forty-five minutes before serving I tossed in a few hand-fulls of farro (procured on the Arthur Avenue adventure) and adjusted the seasoning by adding a little of the Trader Joe’s Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar
(which, I’ve got to tell you, is seriously my new condiment obsession!).
The soup was divine. Full of wonderful green goodness (literally, it turned green, which really surprised me). The farro added so much texture, little pops! of chewy, grainy goodness in the middle of an unctuous, silky soup.
You know–I keep coming back and looking at that soup. It reminds me of gumbo. Yum
That sounds like the perfect soup for a rainy chilly day and all that greenness must be so good for you.
This soup has lots of (to me) exoctic ingredients. I’ve never had ramps or farro.
well i’ll be damned sher, it DOES look like gumbo!
lol, i hadn’t even thought of that!
julie, try farro, its kind of like barley, but it’s got (i believe) more antioxidants, fiber, healthy stuff, ya know?
its WONDERFUL in cold chopped salads with fruit and vege