Farro and Bean Soup
Martha Rose Shulman
1206 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
1,206
About 2 hours, plus soaking of the beans and farro
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Bring the chicken stock to a simmer, add the onion, garlic and chile, and simmer 15 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, and simmer for another five minutes. Taste and adjust salt, then stir in the chicken breast and chopped cilantro. Cover and let sit for five minutes. Add the lime juice.
Divide the avocado between four soup bowls. Ladle in the soup, place a slice of lime on each bowl, and serve with crisp corn tortillas.
This is a go-to easy, healthy meal in my house. I lightly stir fry the onion, garlic, and jalapeno (sometimes add carrot) with salt, pepper, and a couple shakes of cumin and paprika to amp up the flavor before adding the broth. Will make it once a week this winter.
A regular recipe for us. To make it a little more substantial, we add cooked brown rice or quinoa. Usually skip the pepper and even the cilantro and it turns out really well.
I made this last night and it turned out well. I took other's advice and added carrots and celery before adding the broth. Tasty and satisfying!
Did use home-made stock --one of the NYT recipes. The whole thing was done on a Sunday morning, and was easy and a big hit with guests for lunch. The avocado and fresh cilantro made the dish.
Delicious- warming and stimulating on winter evenings. I poached the chicken lightly and then used that cooking water instead of the plain water in the recipe. I also switched out the breasts for more flavorful thighs, and cut small chunks instead of shreds. Otherwise the chicken is way overcooked. I kept the chicken separate until serving time, adding only as much as needed for the meal, saving the rest for later servings. I added the chicken at the end to finish cooking.
Use 3x the chicken, add celery and carrots, and then there is plenty to chew on. The flavors are well balanced, but restrained, so have your favorite hot sauce on hand to add that flare!
This soup is a version of the Chicken Soup I used to buy at a restaurant in San Miguel Allende. The SMA version also contained a small amount of rice and diced carrot. Light and delicious.
Good! Will make again. Used only 1/2 of the Serrano chili and that was the perfect amount of heat for our family. Next time will add rice and carrot as others have suggested. Used a bit more chicken and tomato than called for.
I’d like more substance to this soup. Carrots, barley perhaps
Excellent with some changes. I added about a teaspoon of chipotle powder and smoked paprika in addition to the jalapeños. Added 8oz wide noodles for more substance and doubled the chicken, using rotisserie leftovers. Superb!
There’s a Mexican restaurant near me that makes a soup like this! I was lazy and bought a rotisserie chicken to get both the meat for the soup and make the stock. I added some garlic, onion, carrot and a few dried arbol chiles when making the stock for a bit of a kick. I also added brown rice to the soup. Delicious!
Added corn and spinach. For seasoning, I added traditional oregano, basil and cumin. Made a HUGE difference. Topped with cacique, a Mexican sour cream and a few tortilla strips. Made for a wonderful meal!
A go-to recipe in my house. This is a great opportunity to use homemade stock from a layer hen. I also use the meat for the soup. On its own, this meat is tasteless but it readily takes on the flavors of the soup. The recipe is very adaptable. I’m adding leftover corn today just to use it up. As others have noted. I tend to sauté the vegetables before tossing them in.
I've made similar Mexican soups; it's possible that I've used this recipe before. I used all the ingredients and cooked for the specified times, which worked quite well. I added carrot along with the onion/garlic and added jalapeño (rings) after other vegetables cooked for five minutes. I find that peppers cook more quickly than other vegetables. I put the cilantro into the bowls with the avocado; if there are leftovers I don't like soggy, blackened cilantro or parsley the next day. Nice soup!
Added 1 tsp Chilpote in adobo for Smokey heat. Yum!
Very bland. Like others I had to add a bunch of spices and a bunch more lime and vegetables.
I purchased a 4 lb. whole hen and made 5 dinners, including a double batch of this soup. We spiced it up with pickled jalapeños and added plain Tostitos, yum. Really wonderful alternative to “grandma’s chicken soup”.
Made this exactly as written, and it was a hit. Served with lots of toasted tortillas and a bean salad. Perfect for two hungry adults or as a first course. Lime juice is a must!
Perfect as is!!! Healthy, but packed with flavor.
Use 2 -4 jalapenos, slice 2 onions in circles, 2 tomatos seeded and diced. More garlic, ca 8 cloves sliced. More chicken?
This was a nice twist on chicken soup. I did not have fresh tomatoes or jalapeño so I used a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes, also a leftover rotisserie chicken. I also read the notes and added celery and carrots. It was great!
A little pimenton adds a nice depth of flavor, too—especially if you don’t have any jalapeño on hand
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