CANNELLINI****Tuscan Bean and Farro Soup

By Unblond1

02/01/13 - Great for both. Tastes a lot like bean with bacon soup. I used some pork hock stock that I had in the fridge, which probably enhanced that.
28/12/16 - I had 11 ounces of cubed butternut squash sitting around so I threw that in too ...

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 ounces pancetta or bacon or combination, diced (I used 2 ounces hot pancetta and two slices of garlic & pepper bacon)
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1 medium celery rib, chopped
• 1 medium carrot, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
• 4 fresh sage leaves, chopped
• 1 sprig of rosemary and one bay leaf (tied with string for ease of removal)
• 1 can cannellini beans, with liquid
• 6 1/2 cups or so of chicken or pork hock stock
• 1 decent-sized parmesan rind
• 1 can Aurora or fire-roasted tomatoes
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 10 tablespoons farro or spelt
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling (didn't find this necessary)
• croutons or sage and parmesan croutons, to serve
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, to serve

Preparation

Step 1

*Heat* oil over medium heat and saute pancetta until lightly browned. *Drain* on paper towels and set aside, leaving the fat in the pan. *Add* onion, celery, garlic and carrots and cook until softened, adding sage for last couple of minutes.

*Scrape* mixture into Cuisinart slow cooker and add the beans, tomatoes, rosemary, broth, parmesan rind, salt and pepper. *Cover* and cook on high for three hours then reduce heat to low and *cook* for a further three hours.

*Measure* farro or spelt into a jar and cover with cold water and set aside until needed.

*Remove* rosemary sprig and cheese rind and puree soup with hand blender until relatively smooth (but not completely smooth). *Taste* and adjust seasonings if necessary. *Stir* in drained farro or spelt, cover and cook on low for a further two hours.

Just before serving, taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary, and stir in parsley and bacon bits.

*Serve* drizzled with a bit of olive oil and maybe some shaved parm, if desired, although I didn't find either were necessary, or home made croutons.

*NUTRITION:*

6 Servings

Calories 280.6
Total Fat 9.0 g
Saturated Fat 2.6 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.3 g
Monounsaturated Fat 1.7 g
Cholesterol 11.8 mg
Sodium 404.2 mg
Potassium 439.5 mg
Total Carbohydrate 36.3 g
Dietary Fiber 9.1 g
Sugars 2.2 g
Protein 13.1 g

With optional butternut squash:

Calories 301.9
Total Fat 9.0 g
Saturated Fat 2.6 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.3 g
Monounsaturated Fat 1.7 g
Cholesterol 11.8 mg
Sodium 406.5 mg
Potassium 591.0 mg
Total Carbohydrate 41.9 g
Dietary Fiber 10.7 g
Sugars 2.2 g
Protein 13.5 g