If there is one season that Abruzzo stands out for its dishes, it’s for the woodland flavours of Autumn.

One of the rustic hearty soups that you’ll find served inland at the agriturismi and restaurants that span the Apennine highlands is this pumpkin, porcini mushroom, chestnut, and farro one that is a meal in itself.  

The chestnut gives the soup a sweet background and as Niki Segnit remarks pumpkin/squash and mushroom pairing is a fairytale, the earthiness of the pumpkin makes them highly compatible.  The elegant father of wheat, farro (spelt) or you can substitute barley provides a nuttiness and along with the chestnuts ensures you leave the table comfortably sated!  I could happily eat it a few times a week right through to Christmas, changing the herbs and adding a little guanciale or pancetta to give it a different twist.  

Roadtrip to Il Rifugio il Ceppo

(This restaurant served the bowl in the photo last Sunday, recipe adapted from  Abruzzese food blogger, Essenza di Vaniglia)

Chestnut, Porcini, Pumpkin & Farro Soup

Laura Gioia

One of the rustic hearty soups that you’ll find served inland at the agriturismi and restaurants that span the Apennine highlands is this pumpkin, porcini mushroom, chestnut and farro one that is a meal in itself

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Course Soup

Cuisine Italian

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 200 g 200 g Pumpkin, peeled and cubed
• 150 g Borlotti or Brown Beans
• 100 g Farro
• 100 g Porcini, Chantrelles, or Chestnut Mushrooms If you use dried mushrooms, reduce the quantity! 20/30 g will be enough!
• 50 g Roasted Chestnuts peeled If you can't roast, boil them by cutting in half for 10 minutes in their shells and then deshell and add to the soup mixture for the final 30 minutes
• 1 L Water
• 1 Onion
• 1 Carrot
• 1 Garlic Clove
• 1 Celery
• 4/5 Sage leaves
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Notes

Chop all the vegetables into small cubes: pumpkin, onion, carrot and celery. Put  in a saucepan,and add 1 liter of water, salt and cover and bring to the boil. Add the washed farro, the roasted chestnuts and beans,  sage leaves; cover with a lid and cook for 40 minutes.

 

In a small pan, fry two tablespoons of oil with a clove of crushed garlic; then add the mushrooms and leave them to cook for a couple of minutes

 

After 40 minutes add the garlic and mushrooms to the soup with the cooking oil to the soup. Mix well and continue cooking for another 5 minutes or until the soup has reached the desired consistency and creaminess.

 

Season with salt and pepper and let it rest for 5 minutes and serve.

Keyword chestnuts, soup, porcini

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Author: Sam Dunham

Sam is a very lucky midlife Mum to A who is 13 and juggles working as a freelance SEO copywriter with teaching IGCSEs at Istituto Cristo Re in Rome. She is the founder of the Life In Abruzzo Cultural Association, co-founder of Let's Blog Abruzzo and the 'English in the Woods' initiative.