Luccan Spelt Soup

For a number of reasons, February has been a really long month. And we still have a couple days to go. But this morning, on my way to yoga class, I spotted something exciting. In my disaster of a front yard – the four by seven plot of dried twigs and broken branches that I call my front yard – was the sprouting of crocuses and daffodils. Soon, I will be walking to my local farmer’s market to buy leafy greens in season. But there’s still time between now and then, which means a few more bowls of hearty soup before the winter season comes to an end.

My favorite soup to make this winter has been Turkish Bride Soup with red lentils and fine barley. But I have strayed a few times, most recently with a soup from Tuscany of white beans and spelt, revised from a recipe off of Mark Bittman’s blog.

It's easy to make. Add two tbs of extra virgin olive oil to a pot over medium heat, then one sliced large onion, two chopped celery stalks, and two chopped carrots – salt and pepper. Cook until the onion is soft and translucent.

Next you’ll add one tbs of minced garlic, one cup of dried white beans that have been soaked (overnight), and one cup of spelt. Spelt is an ancient grain similar to wheat but with a nuttier flavor. I’ve never cooked with it before, but upon taking a good look up close, I can say with certainty that it is something horses eat.

I like to mix these new ingredients in the pot for a minute or so to give them a chance to gain some heat and get a bit of olive oil on them before adding the eight cups of stock and one and a half cans of diced tomatoes:

Bring to a boil and then simmer until the beans and the spelt are edible. This took about one and a half to two hours for me. Five minutes before the soup is ready to eat, throw in a quarter cup of chopped parsley. Top with fresh ground pepper and shaved parmesan. The end result is satisfying: