Another day marked by unstable weather, with the on-and-off dance between sun and clouds and a rather nasty breeze, quite treacherous! In short, it’s hard to tell what season we’re in anymore! In February, we enjoyed fabulous days, whereas now in March, the climate seems to be playing tricks on us! How to cope with these climate changes if not with a good, warm, healthy, and comforting dish? Here is my proposal for today: a kamut soup, a cereal considered one of the most nutritionally complete, cooked in a vegetable broth based on pumpkin, Swiss chard, and Savoy cabbage, and scented with rosemary, turmeric, and cinnamon. A vegan-style dish, considering its non-animal origin ingredients. A soup with a slightly exotic, non-trivial flavor, which also contains a unique completeness of nutrients, because inside you’ll find carbohydrates, vegetable proteins, minerals, and vitamins. And we know how much this can be a valuable aid for our body in such a delicate period as the one we are going through.
CURIOSITY: kamut is a cereal belonging to the Graminaceae family, rich in beneficial properties, especially antioxidants thanks to a good dose of selenium. It is mainly composed of carbohydrates, but also contains a higher amount of proteins compared to wheat.
It boasts a content of Vitamin E, much higher than that of wheat, and the amount of amino acids is also higher.
For simplicity, it is called that way, but in reality, the term “kamut” refers to the registered trademark to distinguish a specific variety of khorasan wheat with certain characteristics; it would therefore not be correct to simply speak of KAMUT®, as the correct wording should always be khorasan KAMUT® wheat..
Other soups you might be interested in:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Boiling
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
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- 1.5 cups khorasan wheat (Kamut)
- 6.35 oz borlotti beans (pre-cooked)
- 14.1 oz pumpkin
- 6 leaves Savoy cabbage
- 2 carrots
- 1 potato (large or 2 small)
- 1 bunch Swiss chard
- 2 yellow onions
- 3.5 oz tomato sauce
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 0.35 oz fresh ginger
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
Tools
- 1 Knife
- 2 Saucepans
- 1 Hand Blender
- 1 Frying Pan
Preparation
In a large saucepan, brown a finely chopped onion with two generous drizzles of oil for 3 minutes. Add the diced potato and pumpkin, 4 leaves of julienned Savoy cabbage and let it taste. Then cover with 800 ml (3 1/3 cups) of hot water and cook over low heat for about 20 minutes from the boil.
Separately, in another saucepan, prepare a second vegetable broth with the other onion cut into wedges, sliced carrots, rosemary and finely chopped Swiss chard (fig. 2).
Once it reaches a boil, add the kamut.
Then add the ready-made tomato sauce and cook over low heat for about 40 minutes or according to the cooking times indicated on your package.
Take back the first vegetable broth now cooked, add the borlotti beans and let it taste for another 5 minutes, then turn off, season with grated fresh ginger, turmeric and cinnamon.
Mix and blend coarsely with an immersion blender until you get a creamy base. For this, the broth should have reduced; otherwise, remove a few ladlefuls of broth before blending everything.
Serve the hot pumpkin soup base by adding the well-drained kamut and garnishing each dish with remaining thin strips of Savoy cabbage, previously sautéed in a very hot non-stick pan with a drizzle of oil and a pinch of salt for just 3-4 minutes. They should wilt slightly but remain firm and bright green.
Add a drizzle of raw oil. And voila… the kamut and bean soup with crispy cabbage is ready to be enjoyed!
Enjoy Your Meal from La Cucina di FeFè!
Storage
The Kamut and Bean Soup keeps perfectly in the fridge for 3-4 days in an airtight container. Kamut, being a very durable ancient grain, holds up better than rice or pasta, but it will still absorb the broth.
The Crispy Cabbage: If it has already been mixed with the soup, it will become tender. If you want to keep it crispy, store it separately in a dry container for 1-2 days.
Tip: If the soup seems too dense when reheating it, add a ladle of hot water or vegetable broth.
Tips, notes, variations, and suggestions
🟣For superior texture contrast, don’t just sauté the cabbage: try creating a chip effect
by cooking half of the leftover cabbage in the oven at 300°F with a drizzle of oil and smoked paprika until it becomes crispy like a chip. Use it to garnish the dish at the end. Use the outer, greener cabbage leaves for the soup (they are richer in chlorophyll and fiber) and keep the more tender and pale heart for the crispy part sautéed in the pan.
🟣For a greater flavor boost, before adding the broth, dry toast the kamut grains in the pot for 2 minutes, just like you would with risotto. This step intensifies its natural aroma.
1. Can I replace kamut with another grain?
Certainly. If you can’t find kamut (khorasan wheat), you can use spelt or pearl barley. Both maintain a good “al dente” texture. If you’re looking for a gluten-free option, buckwheat grains or brown rice are great alternatives, although the flavor will be more toasted.
2. Kamut takes too long to cook, how can I speed it up?
Kamut usually takes 40-50 minutes. To cut the time, use a pressure cooker (about 20 minutes from whistle), or soak the kamut for a couple of hours before cooking it.
Finally, try buying precooked or hulled kamut, which cooks in about 10-15 minutes.3. Is this soup suitable for a detox diet?
Absolutely yes. Kamut is a highly energetic but easily digestible ancient grain, beans provide vegetable proteins, and cabbage has known anti-inflammatory and detoxifying properties. For maximum detox effect, avoid excessively frying the herbs and add extra virgin olive oil only raw.
