This light soup celebrates spring. If you have asparagus, add some 1/8th inch bias cut slices and you have all the local vegetable harbingers of the season. This recipe is more of a guideline, really. Feel free to play with it. You could just add the chard stems to the liquid, but the sautéing brings out sweetness in the stems, and wilting the chard in a separate pan gives a lighter, cleaner flavor to the broth. The fava greens are the tips of the plants, including some of the flowers. Add mushrooms, carrot shreds, whatever you find.
INGREDIENTS:
3 leeks, white and palest green part only, sliced into ¼ inch rounds, soaked in cold water to cover 3 green garlic stalks, white and palest green parts only, halved lengthwise and diagonally sliced into 1/8th x 1 inch strips, rinsed and drained 1 bunch chard, leaves and stems separated, leaves cut into 1 x 3 inch strips and washed, stems cut into 1/8th x 2 inch matchsticks, washed and drained ½ to ¾ pound fava greens 2 cups oyster mushrooms, shredded into ½ inch strips with fingers 1 cup cooked farro, room temperature or heated * Salt and pepper to taste Grapeseed oil as needed 8 cups light vegetable stock 1 smallish (1×3 inch) chunk of Parmesan cheese rind-Optional ¼ cup white wine Olio Nuovo or Extra Virgin Olive-brightly flavored and grassy if possible-for drizzling at serviceMETHOD:
Bring the vegetable stock to a gentle simmer and add the parmesan rind if using. Gently simmer stock with rind until the parmesan flavor is just apparent, then pull the rind from the stock. Add the strips of green garlic and simmer gently.
Bring 3-4 quarts of water to a simmer and salt well.
While water comes to a boil, heat a skillet over medium heat and film with oil. When hot, add the chard stems and gently sauté until almost cooked through. Remove from the pan and keep warm. If the pan is dry, add a little oil and heat it up. When hot, add the mushrooms and sauté until crisp and browned along some of the edges. Season generously with salt and pepper. Drizzle with the white wine and sauté until it evaporates, then cook the mushrooms until cooked through and crisp in places. Remove from the pan and keep warm. Lower the heat to low and allow the pan to cool a little.
While the mushrooms cook, take care of the leeks.The water should be simmering so as to keep the leek rounds intact. Gently add the leek rounds to the water and simmer until just tender. Remove from the water and keep warm.
Turn up the heat under the stock so it is hot, but not boiling or so hot you cannot eat it right away.
Once the mushroom pan cools, film it with oil if needed and add the chard. Cook it gently so it wilts but doesn’t start to shrink and give off liquid.
Add the fava greens to the simmering stock and stir in to just tenderize.
When the chard is done, distribute it with tongs evenly between 4 pre-heated shallow, wide soup bowls. Add the leek rounds around the edge of the chard, then scatter the mushrooms and the chard stems evenly over the soup bowls. Scatter the farro over the vegetables in each bowl. Stir the stock to set the green garlic strips in motion and evenly ladle the infused stock over the bowls. Use tongs to place the fava greens in the bowls/ Scatter with a pinch of fresh oregano and drizzle a little of the olio nuovo or Extra Virgin oil over the soup. Season with a little salt and pepper and serve hot.
Chef’s Notes:
This dish is quite flexible. If you have asparagus, add some. For thin spears, slice them lengthwise and add to the stock. If they are thick, slice diagonally around 1/8th inch thick and add towards the end for crunch. Carrots can be shredded on a mandolin or sliced into thin sheets. Use cremini instead of oyster mushrooms. *For the farro, if you do not have any cooked, Trader Joes carries a 10 minute version that is great for adding to soups when you only want small amounts of something. If you do not feel like using separate pots to cook the ingredients, you could just add everything straight to the soup, although the favors will be heartier and more amalgamated. This version is light with distinct bright flavors.
Serves: 4
Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
