This dish was inspired bypasta e fagiole, the classic Italian pasta and bean stew. Unlike macaroni, the grains stay nice and chewy, even when reheated days later.
Ingredients
Makes 8 servings
Step 1
Pulse onion in a food processor until finely chopped. Transfer to a medium bowl. Repeat with fennel, carrot, and celery, placing vegetables in bowl with onion.
Step 2
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large pot. Add pancetta and cook, stirring often, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Add spelt and cook, stirring often, until grains are a couple of shades darker, about 3 minutes.
Step 3
Add onion, fennel, carrot, celery, and garlic to pot; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, 6–8 minutes. Add tomato paste and red pepper flakes, and cook until paste is slightly darkened, about 1 minute.
Step 4
Add broth to pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, until spelt is tender, 60–70 minutes. Stir escarole and beans into soup and cook until escarole is wilted and beans are warmed though, about 4 minutes.
Step 5
Serve soup drizzled with oil and topped with Parmesan.
Step 6
DO AHEAD:Soup can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill.
Semi-pearled farro or wheat berries
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Reviews (23)
Back to TopI loved this! It's a really hearty, delicious soup. I was one 15oz can of chicken broth short and didn't have a parmesan rind on hand, and it was still delicious. I added 15oz of water to make up for the lost broth and hoped for the best. I made three substitutions based on what I had on hand, but still feel like I can comment on the recipe faithfully. Like most reviewers, I subbed in kale for escarole. I couldn't find pancetta at the grocery store, so I subbed sweet Italian sausage. And I had barley on hand, so I used that instead of spelt. It was great! So flavorful and satisfying. I added a full teaspoon of red pepper flakes and probably two tablespoons of tomato paste to bump up the flavor a bit. Overall, I really enjoyed it. Highly recommend. The food processor makes for super fast prep on the veg.
Jenn
Summit, NJ
11/11/2021
Everyone at my house LOVED this soup. I doubled the pancetta as I knew they would want a little more meat. Everything else the same and it was so much better than typical soup with pasta. The spelt keeps a toothy feel that is great, even as leftovers.
tkstraet
Charlotte, NC
10/8/2020
This is a delicious and hearty winter soup! I'm adding a little more stock, it got pretty dense as it cooled.
Annamaren
1/27/2020
I was pleasantly surprised by this soup. I liked the idea of trying spelt grains in a soup but I was a bit worried that the volume of broth was too large and that the soup would turn out bland and thin. I cautiously added only 10 cups of broth for the 70 minute simmer of the spelt but once I had added the beans and the Lacinato kale (couldn't find escarole), I realized I could add back the additional broth. It's a very nice, tasty and healthy soup. I will be on the lookout for escarole and as soon as I find some I will try the recipe as written and see if it's even better as written. By the way, I also worried that the spelt grains would be so chewy that I'd be chowing down for hours. They are just as good as the recipe claimed.
Foodie_in_BC
Vancouver, British Columbia
1/29/2018
Wonderful soup! Made with farro and kale as I had both on hand and it was excellent. Definitely add a parmesan rind while cooking. May try to use crunbled sausage for variation next time but recipe really is perfect as is.
stacyshipp
Toronto, ON
1/10/2016
Really lovely winter soup. I used kale instead of escarole, but was able to find spelt and it's great! I recommend adding a parmesan rind and a generous splash of Italian red.
Anonymous
Chicago, IL
12/14/2015
Have made this recipe a number of times exactly as written and loved by all even my 10 year old son. Have received many requests for the recipe.
KRead
Woodbridge, ON
5/25/2015
Made this recipe a couple weeks ago and I can't wait to make it again. It was very easy to make vegetarian. I used fake bacon instead of pancetta and vegetable stock instead of chicken stock. I also used kale instead because we tend to have that on hand. I could not find spelt so we used faro and it worked out great. I did two cans of the beans instead of one. I'd make it exactly the same way again; it was so delicious! Served with grilled cheese sandwiches on really good, garlic, tuscan bread. Yum!
Meredith79
2/18/2015
Didn't have spelt so I used 1/2 barley, 1/4 wild rice, and a 1/4 steel cut oats. Also I had mean't to use canellini but didn't realize I had chick peas until I had opened them. The oats pretty much disintegrated after an hour of cooking but gave the broth a rich creaminess. The rice provided a nutty chewiness. I also added a Parmesan rind which I would highly recommend. Served it without the Parmesan or the extra olive oil, was still very rich and filling. Definitely do recommend you try different grains.
abare
NC
12/28/2014
Always looking for a way to use the Spelt we get in our winter CSA bag. When we got a beautiful head of Escarole in our bag this week Epicurious came through once again. All of the ingredients were in my pantry or refrig. If making again I would probably start with some bone in chicken or perhaps some spicy Italian sausage to give it a bit more depth of flavor. But as written it's a wonderful comfort food soup and it gets better with each and every reheat.
Einer2
Hilliard, Ohio
11/8/2014
Absolutely love this soup! I could not find spelt so I used farro and boy am I a convert - so much better than barley. I also threw in a parmesan rind for added flavor. Like the previous reviewer, I also added a drizzle of Olive oil for serving. This is a keeper.
sneewe
Pittsburgh, PA
7/16/2014
Excellent and food processor makes it easy, easy. Farro worked just fine in place of spelt. Actually, I think one could use brown rice as well. Wouldn't be hard to make vegetarian version either. In the end, I anointed each bowl with a drizzle of good olive oil. Yum
aclouser
New Jersey
2/22/2014
Excellent! My hubby said it was one of the best. Used wheat berries because I couldn't find pearled spelt and it worked great. We also used dried beans which are far better than the canned ones.
sfje
San Francisco Bay Area, CA
2/20/2014
I doubled the recipe as written except that I only used 12 cups of broth because we like thick soups. It is excellent.
Just_Beginning
Charlotte NC
2/1/2014
Loved this soup. Used wheat berries and spinach. Great the day after as well!
nhagan
Los Angeles, CA
1/29/2014
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