As a home chef who gets easily excited when given a culinary challenge, this is my second entry in the Pacific Organic Soup Starters cooking contest... yep, second in one quick afternoon of cooking! The first soup I whipped up was a Curried Lentil Soup with Butternut Squash, Sweet Potatoes and Kale. That vegetarian deliciousness was packed away for busy weeknights coming up. But this one made our whole kitchen fill with the smoky aroma of chorizo and we had to enjoy this one right away.
Before heading to the market, I tasted the Tortilla Soup Base variety of Pacific Soup Starters. It has a serious spicy kick! Knowing that, I decided to make a flavorful stew that ran with the spiciness {knowing full well that it might be too spicy for my children}.
You all know that I like to toss everything in a pot and let it do its thing, right? Well, this recipe is another one of those easy ones. I chopped everything,
then sauteed the chorizo, onions, celery and carrots in a bit of olive oil, just until the onions were starting to soften, about 5 minutes.
Then I added 1 cup of farro, which is hearty and holds up well in soups. {I was making a big batch. And due to the spiciness, I had a feeling I was going to be freezing some of this one, so I wanted to make sure it would freeze well.}
Next I added the 32 oz carton of Tortilla Soup Starter (4 cups) and 2 cups of veggie broth to the pot. I used regular veggie broth because I wanted to cut the spiciness a bit-- even for us! But if you like spicy, then the flavor of the Tortilla Soup Starter is wonderful. You could just open another carton of that and use 2 more cups.
I brought the pot to a boil, then lowered the heat to a simmer, covered the pot, and let the farro cook for about 15-20 minutes, until tender.
Once the farro was tender, I added 2 rinsed and drained cans of chickpeas, and 2 cups of chopped kale to the pot,
and let that simmer another 5 minutes, until the greens were wilted and the flavors blended.
This soup was amazing!! So, so good. All of the different textures of the sausage, chickpeas and farro make it a true hearty, one-dish meal.
And because I guessed right that it might be too spicy for my kids, I simply packaged the rest of the soup into freezer-proof tubs. This soup will freeze beautifully, and will be a welcome warm parent dinner after a day of running around!!
Spicy Farro, Chickpea and Chorizo Stew
makes 6-8 servings
2 Tablespoons olive oil
10 oz chorizo*, chopped
1 onion, thinly sliced
4 carrots, chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
32 oz. Pacific Organic Tortilla Soup Base (4 cups)
2 cups Pacific Vegetable Broth
1 cup farro
two 15 oz cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 cups kale, chopped
salt & pepper, to taste
Saute the chorizo, onions, carrots and celery in olive oil over medium heat until the onions begin to soften. Add the farro, soup starter and broth and bring to a boil. Then lower heat, cover, and simmer for about 15-20 minutes, until the farro softens. Add the rinsed and drained chickpeas and kale. Stir. Heat for another 5 minutes, or until kale begins to wilt. Serve warm. Can be stored in the fridge for up to three days, or frozen for up to three months.
*You can use any sausage of your choice. If you wanted to make the soup less spicy, you could use a mild chicken sausage.
