Zuppa di farro con borlotti cannellini e ceci

A wondrous medley of textures and tastes. A bit of work to prepare but unforgettable.

Tastes wonderful when reheated, and served at room temperature barely warm.

Summer's just around the corner. Why not make it?

Recipe

1 cup farro (emmer wheat, substitute with spelt)
1 cup borlotti beans
1 cup cannellini beans
1 cup dried chickpeas (ceci)

10-12 tomatoes (yes 10-12, read below)

3 cloves garlic (crushed, CC used spring garlic)
3 sprigs rosemary

sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

olive oil

dried bread crusts (one/few per guest)

Recipe

Soak the beans and the farro SEPARATELY for at least 12 hours.

Cook them separately in lots of water until al dente. Cooking times vary. This is the hard part.

(If you have a pressure cooker, cook the beans for 10-11 minutes, basically just barely under par-boiled. You must still cook the farro separately, and skim it.)

Meanwhile, bring water to a boil, and dunk the tomatoes until they "float" (10 minutes roughly.) Pass them through the finest sieve of a food mill to get your tomato pulp.

Fry 2/3rds of the garlic; add the tomato pulp. Cook at a low heat for 30 minutes. Regular readers of the blog know the drill. Skim, baby, skim.

Add the rest of the garlic, the rosemary, salt and pepper, and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes.

Add the beans and the farro. Cook for 15 minutes or so until the flavors "blend". You may need to add some water to replace some of the reduction.

Serve over dried bread crusts drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.