New Year’s resolutions aside, January is actually a terrible month to try to eat more healthfully. For one thing, there’s not a lot of tempting fresh produce in the market, inspiring a cook to make stunning salads. Then, there’s the icy, gray-skied weather that quite naturally makes a body crave carb-heavy, cozy fare, preferably smothered in bacon and cheese.
The best January dishes bridge the divide between healthful and heavy. They’re warming and sustaining, but still full of vegetables and whole grains.
This spinach soup does exactly that. Loaded with greens, celery, leeks and herbs, it’s got vegetables galore. Some potato puréed into the broth gives it a creaminess without richness. And farro stirred in at the end gives it texture and an earthy depth, making this recipe walk the line between soup and stew.
One individual choice you’ll have to make is how thick or thin you’d like your soup to be. Start with a quart of good broth (either chicken or vegetable). This will be enough to liberally cover all the vegetables while they simmer away. Then, after puréeing the soup, you can evaluate it. If it’s too thick, just stir in a little water. If it’s too thin, let it simmer for a few minutes uncovered to reduce it.
If you can, try to start with a good, flavorful broth, something you’d be happy to heat up and sip by itself from a mug on a freezing day. But even a bouillon cube will work. This isn’t a fussy soup; it will forgive all kinds of substitutions and still taste excellent.
You can use other grains in place of the farro. I love its substantial chewiness and almost bready flavor. But if you don’t have any on hand, you definitely don’t need to run to your nearest fancy market to find some. Simply leave it out for a thinner, lighter soup. Or use 2 cups cooked rice (brown or white) instead. Wild rice would be another great swap if you happen to have some in your cupboard, maybe leftover from that pilaf you made for Thanksgiving.
In any iteration, this soup will satisfy your hunger and warm your bones — and a resolution to make it will be easy to keep.
Recipe: Lemony Spinach Soup With Farro