By Martha Rose Shulman
- Total Time
- 3 hours 45 minutes
- Rating
- 5(509)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Wondering what else you can do with the cabbage and winter squash in that box of delivered produce? Here’s a meal in a bowl, perfect for a cold winter night.
Featured in: Bean Soup With Cabbage, Winter Squash and Farro
Learn: How to Cook Beans
Learn: How to Make Soup
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Ingredients
Yield:Serves six
- ½pound borlotti or pinto beans, soaked overnight or for six hours in 1 quart water
- 2tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1medium onion, chopped
- 1medium carrot, chopped
- 1small celery stalk, with leaves, chopped
- 2teaspoons chopped fresh sage
- 4large garlic cloves, minced
- 1pound green cabbage, cored and shredded
- Salt
- freshly ground pepper
- 1pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced (about 2 cups)
- A bouquet garni made with a few sprigs each thyme and parsley, 2 sage leaves and a Parmesan rind
- Generous ½ teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled
- 1(14-ounce) can chopped tomatoes, with liquid
- ½cup farro (spelt), cooked
- Freshly grated Parmesan for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
286 calories; 7 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 45 grams carbohydrates; 12 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 14 grams protein; 672 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven. Cook the onion until it begins to soften, about three minutes. Add the carrot, celery and sage, and continue to cook, stirring, until the vegetables are tender, about five minutes. Add half the garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about one minute. Add the cabbage and a generous pinch of salt, and cook, stirring often, until the cabbage is limp, about 10 minutes. Drain the soaked beans, and add them to the pot, along with the squash, bouquet garni and 2 quarts water, or enough to cover by two inches. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, add salt to taste and simmer 1½ to 2 hours until the beans are tender. Remove the bouquet garni, and discard.
Step
2
While the soup is simmering, heat the remaining olive oil over medium heat in a medium-size nonstick skillet. Add the remaining garlic and the rosemary. Cook for a half-minute to a minute until fragrant, and stir in the tomatoes. Add salt. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often, until the tomatoes have cooked down and the mixture is thick, beginning to stick to the pan and delicious. Stir into the soup along with the cooked farro. Continue to simmer for another 30 minutes. Taste and adjust salt, and add lots of freshly ground pepper. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan.
- Advance preparation: The farro can be cooked three days ahead. The finished soup keeps well and gets even better over two or three days.
Ratings
5
out of 5
509
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Cooking Notes
Jessie
Farro is not gluten free. Please remove the gluten free label from this.
Carrie
Due to vacant produce shelves due to impending blizzard this week, had to make a few substitutions. This was excellent with barley instead of farro and kale added at the end of cooking in place of cabbage.
Zee
This is a total sleeper hit - won't win any beauty contests but it's fabulously tasty. I halved the fresh sage in the initial step and omitted the farro but otherwise made exactly as written. I'm puzzled as to the reviews that stated this was sweet, overall this is very savory and wonderfully complex dish. I suggest weighing the butternut squash and cabbage, the smallest ones at the store were two pounds (used half of each for this recipe).
Rich
I made this a second time using the "pot of pintos" recipe and cutting down on the simmering--just until the squash softens and the flavor begins to meld. The result was thicker, richer and more complex than when I made this according to the recipe.
Annie K
Big yum from our household.* Didn't peel squash. Why would you ever?* TIL: stalk is the whole celery... stalk* Did the tomato paste thing and put in the remains of an entire large tube hanging in the fridge. Certainly more than 1tbsp. Maybe 2. Maybe 3. Go nuts.* Heartily salted at multiple stages* No thyme, put rosemary in bouquet* Skipped farro for buttered salted bread* Tried a dash of vinegar in my serving, didn't need it. Maybe lemon but fine without.
Juls B.
On a whim, with several varieties of squash on hand, I came to NYT to find something new to try, and am I glad I did! This soup was easy to put together as I used canned beans. I also used veg broth instead of water, & Kuri squash in place of Butternut. The sweetness created by the squash is a bonus to me not like others have mentioned as a negative. This is what made it unique! Boost your seasonings/spices and salt to suit your needs.
Spudnut
Did you add salt to the soaking water? It helps soften the shells.
Mintie
This is a nice winter vegetable soup. It's not particularly hearty, so you might want to eat it with something else, like a sandwich. This soup also doesn't overwhelm you with flavor. The Parmesan cheese at the end is necessary to give it a bit more punch.
I cooked this using pinto beans. I think next time I'll try it with a bean with a more vegetal flavor, like limas or favas. I also recommend using more than the 1/2 lb recommended to make it a true "bean" soup.
mm
Very hearty, more stew than soup. Brown rice subs well for farro. Streamline prep by using tomato paste instead of cooking down canned tomatoes.
Tisha
A little sweet for us. added some lemon juice and it helped a lot. Might add parsley on top with the parm.
Elaine
Just made this tonight and it was great. I added 1/3c raw farro right when I started cooking the tomatoes (~75 min into the main simmer) and that worked well instead of pre-cooking. I also used more thyme instead of rosemary with the tomatoes.
Nico
If you marked the parmesan as optional, you could add a vegan label.
Faye
I like this very much! I used cooked Rancho Gordo SF beans--best beans you can buy: always fresh. Using pre-cooked allowed me to reduce the cooking time, as recommended. I liked the farro because it's a large grain, almost like a pasta. I imagine barley would be fine. I didn't try the lemon that some recommend but can imagine that would bring it up some - perhaps a dash of white wine at the end could do the same, but i like it as is - some of my favorite ingredients all together!
Jesse
This was great. Definitely not the prettiest soup in the world but the taste makes up for it. I used dried herbs and Christmas lima beans from Rancho Gordo instead of pintos.Because I started from dry beans I made sure I cooked them completely first before adding them to the rest of the vegetables. Simmered for about 30 to 45 more minutes waiting for the squash to soften and it was perfect.
CZ
I added an entire rasher of bacon (fried until golden brown at the bottom of my dutch oven before putting in the mirepoix, didn't drain), subbed white rice for farro for the celiacs. Accidentally put too many beans. Grated pecorino over the top. Rave reviews from the whole house.
janice
Add okra at end and mabe gumbo seasoning AddingAndouille sausage ( 1) was dyn-a-mite!
Namejanice
Add 1 andouille Okra at end | gumbo seasoning
Caryn Hart
I just made this using my Instant Pot. This recipe is absolutely fantastic. I used Ayocote Morado beans from Rancho Gordo. I still have to figure out the timing for the pot. Some other commenter suggested 14 minutes with a natural release. I will try that next time because this time I underestimated the time, having had a recent experience with over-cooking another variety of bean.
audrey
Fabulous winter stew like soup. A keeper. I used dried pintos bc that’s what I had.
Ray
Using stock instead of water makes a dish hardier. Definitely not enough beans, next time I’ll double the amount.
Diana
Used pearl barley in place of farro. I would not salt this dish until after beans are tender. I do add salt to the soaking water, but find salting during cooking causes the beans to be tough and not reach that delicious, meltingly soft texture. Otherwise, a satisfying, homey, winter stew.
Amy
2nd time making this recipe! This time I subbed kamut for farro so that I could soak & cook it with the beans. I cooked them in my instant pot for 25 minutes with ~5 cups water, small onion, garlic clove, & bay leaf while cooking the soup on stovetop. I used 1qt chicken broth & 1qt bean cooking liquid in the soup. It was soo delicious and flavorful! Store bought diced squash was another great timesaver!
doctorbonz
I used 1 cup of corn that I had frozen this past summer in place of the farro. It made the soup a little sweeter and fresher. Also seasoned with 1 tsp smoked paprika.
Knut
Cooked 25th of Jan 2024, used Gerste instead of farro; used babcia's tomato concentrate, used dried sage, thyme and rosemary
Jessamine
This soup is kind of labor and time intensive, but worth it. It is substantial, the flavor is subtle, but satisfying, and it’s full of protein, fiber, vitamins, etc. The barlotti beans have a wonderful, firm texture. Diverse ingredients are required, as well as soaking, so plan ahead.
sabrina
Absolutely delicious! I added a Serrano pepper, extra garlic, a whole head of cabbage and used home made poultry broth. Absolutely great winter soup!
Gabrielle
Very satisfying soup and a great way to use up leftovers. And fairly flexible on proportions - I had fewer beans on hand than called for and think it still came out great. I think it serves a lot more than six. It does take some time to soak beans, cook farro, and prep everything. I would up the heat with some dried chiles, and serve with lime wedges, sour cream, and queso fresco or grated cheddar, with corn chips and/or corn bread. You could also add fresh corn,
Dee
Someone said a while back that if you use canned beans, it takes an hour including prep. Nope! It took me two hours. Even if I were more efficient as a cook, it would have taken 1.5 hours easily. But it’s worth it. I did cook farro separately, and used fresh and dried herbs (amped up) and not a garni, and used more garlic and onions. Also used broth, not water. Really good recipe, and I will make again.
Peggy
This is good but I wouldn’t say great. As others noted, it’s a little bland, but adding fresh herbs (parsley, rosemary, thyme) on top is a good addition. My husband added fish sauce to his bowls for more Unami.
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