Farmer's Soup

The Farmer’s Soup is a rustic and hearty dish, perfect for warming up cold evenings or for a nourishing and comforting meal. The recipe can vary according to regional traditions and available ingredients, but usually includes the use of vegetables, legumes, and sometimes pasta or rice. Let’s look at a classic version of this soup:

Ingredients

• 200g of dried borlotti beans
• 2 carrots
• 2 potatoes
• 1 onion
• 1 stalk of celery
• 1 zucchini
• 200g of black cabbage or savoy cabbage
• 400g of peeled tomatoes
• Vegetable broth as needed
• Salt and pepper as needed
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Stale bread
• Grated pecorino cheese (optional)

Preparation

1. Soak the borlotti beans in cold water the night before.
2. The next day, drain them and cook them in fresh water until they become tender.
3. Clean and cut the onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, potatoes, and black cabbage into pieces.
4. In a large pot, sauté the garlic in extra virgin olive oil until golden, then remove it.
5. Add the onion to the sauté and brown until it becomes translucent.
6. Add the other chopped vegetables and let them brown slightly.
7. Add the crushed peeled tomatoes and cook for a few minutes.
8. Add the previously cooked beans and enough vegetable broth to cover all the ingredients.
9. Let the soup simmer for about 1 hour or until the vegetables are tender, adjusting for salt and pepper.
10. Serve the soup hot with croutons made from toasted stale bread and, if you like, with a sprinkling of grated pecorino cheese.

This soup is also great the next day and can be enriched with the addition of short pasta or rice. In some parts of Italy, a piece of bacon or raw ham is also added to further flavor the soup.

Curiosity

The Farmer’s Soup has ancient origins and has been for centuries one of the pillars of the diet of farm workers. Rich in nutrients and economical, it was prepared with what was available on one’s own land, varying from region to region.