Recipes

[Beebee2]

Chickpea Soup with(out) Croutons

This is on top of the stove right now and smells divine. It's cold and rainy in SoCal now and this will hit the spot. My cookbook says "zuppa" means it's served over bread, croutons in this case, but I'm serving it with Parmesan Bread Sticks. It's the first time I've fixed it; will let you know the outcome. You can eat this whether or not you 'shovel snow'.

Chickpea Soup

Zuppa di Ceci

1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and minced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
8 Roma or 4 round tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 can chickpeas with liquid
5 c water
12 fresh basil leaves, divided
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
(6 slices country bread, cut 1/2-inch thick, for crostini)
Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

Heat the olive oil in a heavy soup pot. Add the onion and garlic, and cook over moderate heat until onion is soft and translucent. Add the tomatoes and cook until they begin to break down and give off their juice. Add the chickpeas, water, and half the basil leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook approximately 45 min, or until the chickpeas begin to break down. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove the mixture from the heat and pass through a food mill, using the large-holed disk, into a tureen or serving bowl. Correct seasonings and set aside. The soup should have the consistency of heavy cream. If it is too thick, add a little hot water. While the soup is cooking, make the crostini. Brush the bread slices with olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 400 deg F oven until light golden brown.

To serve, place a crostino in individual soup bowls, then ladle soup over it. Garnish each serving with a healthy drizzle of olive oil and a whole basil leaf.

My note: I used four round tomatoes, and that was the time-consuming part of the recipe. Bring a pan of water to a boil. Stem the tomatoes and cut an ‘x’ in the bottom of each one. Dip them one at a time in boiling water and leave until skin softens - just a few seconds, then remove and take the skin off easily. To deseed the tomatoes, I quarter them through the stem end, then slide the knife from one end of the ‘wedge’ to the other and lift out the seeds and juice. Then I chopped them.

from “Cucina Rustica” by Place and Kleiman