Tuscan Soup Recipe with Root Vegetables and Farro

I love the thought of starting fresh in the New Year.  It’s the thought of sort of hitting the reset button in life, at work, and for me with my diet.  I am totally one of those who over indulges in all of the holidays foods and I’m usually paying for it by the first of the year.  As I get older I’m really starting to notice what I’m putting into my body, and the old age saying still applies, “garbage in, garbage out.”  You are going to feel exactly by what sort of food is going into your body.  Are you loading it up with sugar, red meats and processed foods, or are you using whole grains, greens and vegetables?  I can absolutely tell when I eat foods I shouldn’t because my body suffers because of it.  With all that being said, I made this Tuscan Soup Recipe with Root Vegetables and Farro to sort of serve as a detox recipe for the new year.  This recipe is as much for me as it is anyone, it’s time to get healthy! One of my favorite things about this Tuscan soup recipe is that you can add in, replace or take out vegetables to your liking.  I’m a bit of a traditionalist and it’s really important for me to eat in season so since root vegetables are at peak, then that’s what I’m going to use.  Soup is sort of a combo of tons of flavors so if you would like to tweak that a bit then by all means please do it.  In every recipe, outside of baking, I always recommend using it as a guideline and changing things that you would like more or less of.  If you don’t like parsnips or turnips, no problem, don’t use them and just replace the amounts with some of the other veggies.  In the end, I just want this recipe to work for you so I want to encourage you do make it how you want it. This Italian Tuscan soup recipe is incredibly classic, even though I stepped it up a bit with all of the root vegetables, the base stays the same with vegetables, tomatoes and farro.  Farro is an ancient Roman grain and is an amazing supplement for anything that uses rice.  To me the flavor profile is slightly nutty and tastes like a cross between barley and brown rice.  It’s a meaty grain making it chewy and rich, and wow does it enhance dishes and especially this soup. If there’s one thing I trust, it’s Bob’s Red Mill and the products they make.  I’ve been fortunate enough to tour the Bob’s Red Mill facilities, as well as meet Bob himself, and I was beyond impressed with just how clean everything was.  You could see the whole grains coming right in from the farm to get ground up and then packaged up, its ridiculously impressive.  Bobs Red Mil will be a huge part of my diet this year as I try to eat a little cleaner.  I know exactly where all of their products come from, and I trust them.  If I owned a restaurant they would be the first people I call, no questions asked. If you are like me and wanting to change up your diet, then follow along with me this year as I try and do my best job of cooking everything from scratch while being conscious of the ingredients I’m putting in.  One of sayings I remember hearing this past year is this, “You can either pay to eat good whole foods now, or you can pay later at the doctor’s office.  It’s your choice.”  Lastly, I’m Italian so I usually like to make enough food to feed my family as well as half the neighborhood.  However, this Tuscan soup recipe will cut in half with no problem or sacrifice of flavor.   Tuscan Soup Recipe with Root Vegetables and Farro prep time: 30 minutes cook time: 45 minutes  makes 2 gallons

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 4 peeled and sliced carrots
• 4 sliced stalks of celery
• ½ peeled and small diced yellow onion
• 1 peeled and medium diced parsnip
• 1 peeled and medium diced turnip
• 3 finely minced cloves of garlic
• 1 cup pre-soaked Bob’s Red Mill Cannellini Beans
• 1 cup of Bob’s Red Mill Farro
• 2-28 ounce cans of whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand
• 64 ounces of vegetable stock
• 3 Parmesan cheese rinds
• 2 cups of peas
• 4 cups of packed baby spinach
• garnishes: fresh basil, fresh oregano and grated parmesan cheese
• Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

procedures:

1. In a large pot over medium-high heat add in the olive oil and sauté the carrots, celery, onions, parsnip, turnip and garlic for 6 to 8 minutes.
2. Next, add in the beans, farro, tomatoes, stock, and cheese rinds and simmer covered over low heat for 30 minutes or until the farro is cooked and tender.
3. Finish the soup with peas, spinach, salt and pepper.
4. Garnish each bowl of soup with fresh basil, oregano and a lot of grated Parmesan cheese.

Hello, I’m Billy Parisi, but to some I’m known as “Chef Billy Parisi.”  I do a little bit of this and a little bit of that, but for the most part I’m a Food & Content Creator, Sometimes TV Host, Digital and Social Strategist, Influencer, Picture Taker, Coffee Drinker, Daddy, Husband, College Sports Enthusiast, Fashionisto, Film & Music Lover!

I’ve been in the kitchen since I started washing dishes in a restaurant at the age of 13, and during that time I knew immediately that I wanted to be a chef.  I graduated from Arizona’s Scottsdale Culinary Institute and the University of Missouri, and have logged several years as line cook, sous chef, and executive in some of the Midwest’s finest restaurants.  I currently live in the city of Chicago with my wife Lindsay and daughter Olivia and cook up new inventions, mash-ups, fusions and twists on old classics.  I’m incredibly spontaneous and outgoing, and run 2 small businesses BPMVC, and my latest venture 5 Loaves 2 Fish!