Farro Soup on a Chilly Night

Farro or Emmer tastes like a heartier barley to me. Maybe because it's brown.

Anyway, I was cleaning out my kitchen the other day and a glorious soup was born. It’s a savory soup you can really get your teeth around, and pairs delightfully with a serious Chardonnay or otherwise punchy white wine. Steer clean of oaky stuff as it could overtake the flavor. I also like a Liguria Vermentino or Cinque Terre. Balanced, but with a healthy acidity. You’re going to need it to counter the slick pancetta (bacon) fat.

Farro Soup
Yields 4 large portions

1 1/2 cups soaked farro
1-1/2 cups tomatoes, chopped
3 strips of pancetta or un-smoked bacon
1 large carrot, grated
fresh sage leaves
1 garlic clove (optional)
olive oil
salt and black pepper to taste


Procedure

In a soup pot heat warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add grated carrot, sage, pancetta (or bacon) and some pepper. When carrots are tender add the drained Farro. Stir over very low heat for five minutes. Add tomatoes, a teaspoon of salt and enough water to cover the mixture. Cover for five minutes. Stir continuously, adding water as needed until the faro is puffy and tomatoes have broken apart. Cover for another 10-15 minutes, stirring every so often.

Salt to taste and remove from heat. Remove the pancetta and allow soup to thicken (about 10 minutes). Serve with a drizzle of olive oil.

A Cozy Osteria on Lake Como

Osteria Quatro Pass

Via XX Settembre, 20
Tel 0341815091
Varenna

After nearly three years we finally got lucky with the weather.

I visit my friend Elena in her hometown on Lake Como several times a year and it always rains. Clouds descend on the lake and a thick white mist encapsulates the mountaintops surrounding it. This time, despite bitter cold, the sun blared straight through the sky sending drizzly gold everywhere, and Elena announced that we were going to Varenna. Finally.


A tiny village with 12th-century pebbled streets and colorful lakefront houses, Varenna is a splendid way to pass a sunny afternoon. For lunch we asked around and a local artisan jeweler sent us to Osteria Quatro Pass.


We must have walked by it three times before we realized it was a restaurant and not someone’s cozy living room. The restaurant is a former cellar set just below street level, and you enter down a few steps. A credenza packed with china and wine glasses feels like family, and the exposed, weathered brick and low vaulted ceilings add intimacy and warmth.

Elena I may have been the only couple not kissing (the place lends itself to long romantic meals), but when they brought us a complimentary aperitif of Prosecco we toasted to our friendship, and laughed in the face of past romances gone bad. Our Prosecco came accompanied by a pat of polenta with Parmesan, a swirl of thick balsamic vinegar and a cherry tomato—simple yet artfully presented.

We ordered from the seasonal menu, which included succulent, braseola di cervo, locally cured and thinly sliced venison; ragu di asino, a homemade meaty ragu made with none other than donkey meat (Don’t laugh. It was delicious!), and a flour-less chocolate cake that somehow defied the laws of flour-less cake with its lightness.

The bresaola was melt-in-your-mouth smooth with the characteristic black pepper that lingered never masking the flavor of the meat. The ragu was thick and clustered to the fresh pappardelle pasta exactly as it should.

We drank a 2005 Barbera with the meal, a general crowd pleaser of a wine and the best vintage in years. Friends joined us at dessert for a round of grappa and a lakeside walk.
Outside a cruel wind was blowing, but the sun wouldn’t quit.

It may be another three years before I see sun on Lake Como, but I know exactly where to book lunch.