Yield: 4 Servings

Ingredients:

3/4 cup dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans), soaked overnight in water
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 Bay leaves
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (more may be added for garnish)
1 tablespoon chopped prosciutto ham
1 tablespoon minced celery
3/4 cup farro (spelt) kernels, rinsed then soaked overnight in water
1 quart chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
2 "pinches" freshly grated nutmeg
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Freshly chopped parsley (for garnish)
Preparation:
Soak chickpeas overnight in water, same with the farro (spelt) kernels
Drain chickpeas, and place in medium earthenware pan or saucepan. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Add the sea salt and bay leaves. Reduce heat and continue to cook, covered, for 1-1 1/2 hours or until very soft.
Using medium saucepan, heat olive oil and gently cook the onion, prosciutto and celery for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally until soft but not browned.
Drain the farro (spelt) and add to the onion, prosciutto, celery mixture. Add chicken broth, marjoram and nutmeg. Cook, partially covered for 1 hour.
Drain the chickpeas, while saving the cooking liquid. Discard bay leaves. Using a food processor, puree chickpeas with 1 cup of the saved liquid. Add this to farro (spelt) mixture. Add cooking liquid as necessary to make the resulting soup creamy in texture. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add chopped parsley and olive oil to suit.
Check out our friends at Earthy Delights for mushrooms.