In 1984 Joyce Goldstein launched one of my favorite restaurants, Square One, in San Francisco. That was a decade when I was frequently in the Bay Area, for both business and pleasure, and I enjoyed her cooking and the style of her place as often as possible. (To get a flavor of the Chef and her philosophies, you can peruse this article from the Christian Science Monitor, written in 1990.)

Since those golden days, Joyce has written a number of excellent cookbooks. One of those is Italian Slow and Savory, a tribute to slow cooking which brings out the rich, full flavors of Italy. Today’s post is about Le Virtu, the Farro and Bean Soup from Abruzzo which I made for dinner last night.

I followed this recipe pretty closely, and it seemed to work out well.

The wine recommendation was a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, naturally. Fortunately, the biodynamic 2019 bottle by Cirelli, which I got from Eataly NYC last Fall, fit the bill perfectly.

The warm, rich colors and flavors of this Sunday night soup provided a comforting contrast to the six inches of snow and bright, cold sunshine Friday and Saturday.

the meadow at sunset