Mushroom-Farro Soup

Mushroom-Farro Soup

By ALI SLAGLE
Total time 35 minutes
Serves 4

Here’s a soup for nights when you feel like lighting candles and even washing your face—but won’t change out of sweatpants. It’ll remind you of mushroom-barley soup, albeit a tangy, salty, bright, bewilderingly rich version that comes together in under an hour. Multiple umami-heavy ingredients (browned mushrooms, soy sauce, and a Parmesan rind) work together to create a deep, savory backdrop that might otherwise take lots of simmering time (or meat) to develop. Parmesan rinds are great to have around: Freeze the waxy rind of spent wedges for unleashing salty-cheesy oomph to broths—or just cut the rind off the wedge you’re currently working through. Nutty farro and still-crunchy celery add good bites of texture to the soup, while lemon keeps it from being snoozy. Stir another 1⁄4 cup finely grated Parmesan into the pot for a creamier soup, or even top each bowl with a poached egg.

Ingredients

INGREDIENTS

⅔ cup semi-pearled farro

3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, plus more
for drizzling

1 large shallot, coarsely chopped

1 lb. mixed mushrooms (such as crimini,
shiitake, oyster, and/or maitake), cut into
bite-size pieces

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
1 oz. Parmesan, finely grated
(about 1 cup), plus rind

3 Tbsp. (or more) low-sodium soy sauce

4 celery stalks, thinly sliced, plus any
leaves coarsely chopped

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Country-style bread (for serving)

Preparation

STEP 1

Heat garlic and 3 Tbsp. oil in a large
Dutch oven or other heavy pot over
medium until oil around garlic is
sizzling, about 1 minute. Add shallot
and mushrooms, season with salt and
pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally,
until mushrooms are browned,
10–15 minutes. (Initially, pot will look
dry, then very wet before mushrooms
start to brown.)

STEP 2

Add Parmesan rind, farro, soy sauce,
and 6 cups water to pot. Scrape up any
browned bits stuck to bottom of pot,
season with salt and pepper, and bring
liquid to a boil over medium-high. Reduce
heat and simmer until farro is al dente,
15–20 minutes.

STEP 3

Add sliced celery to soup and simmer
until slightly softened and bright green,
about 3 minutes. Remove pot from
heat; stir in lemon juice. Taste soup and
season with salt and/or more soy sauce
if needed.

STEP 4

Divide soup among bowls and top with
finely grated Parmesan and celery leaves.
Season with more pepper and drizzle
with oil. Serve with bread alongside.

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