Easing back into the flow and with one foot–so to speak–still in Italy, I go to my comfort zone for guidance and authenticity.
my culinary Bible
Marcella Hazan’s first cookbook–still usable, though much patched-up and thumbed.
She doesn’t purée this nourishing and warming soup–though some do, she says.
I’ll go with roughly 1/4 whole chickpeas to 3/4 puréed.
I’ve also added a hint of fire! A couple of small dry red chilis left in the cooking tomatoes for five minutes and then fished out; or leave them in–but careful you don’t swallow them later.
I’ve used twice the liquid she suggests. Italians like to eat their soup almost solid.
3 garlic cloves–peeled but left whole
6 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp rosemary needles–chopped fine
8oz/200gm tinned (canned) tomatoes–chopped with the juice
14oz/400gm can cooked chickpeas–drained
450ml/1 pint stock–I use organic vegetable stock cubes
salt and pepper
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan and sauté the garlic until it is well browned.
- Take it out; it’s job–infusing the oil–is done.
- Throw in the rosemary and stir once, then add the tomatoes with their juice.
- Cook these down to a sauce–about 20 minutes, stirring often to avoid it burning.
- Add the chickpeas and stir these around for five minutes to inform them with the tomato sauce.
- Add three-quarters of the stock and stir it in.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Cover the pan and cook for fifteen minutes.
- Take off the lid, stir well and taste for salt.
- Add more stock if you like.
- Serve it piping hot with a swirl of best olive oil.
Robin Ellis 
That looks great. (Thanks for the photos!)
Oh Yummy….Tis raining here on my beautiful Florida beach….and…I just happen to have all the ingredients for this soup in my kitchen. I think this will be a light supper, with a salad night.
I work at the public library and brought home a copy of the DVD…The Europeans. Hubby and I will have dinner and share our evening with the star of that movie….OH! That would be YOU.
Thanks…and greetings from Florida….Eileen
Hope you have a great evening!! I’ll be there in spirit…
Me, too. I happily remember “The Europeans,” with a gentleman who shall remain nameless, and the lovely Lee Remick, another bright light extinguished too soon.
This will be a dish for next week and will see if we can find that DVD. Oh, yes, we went to Wholefoods market to check out Olio Extra Virgin Olive Oil. It was on sale. A 8.5 oz bottle was on sale for $11.99.
Thank you for all the wonderful recipes, we have had such a bounty of good food.
ellen
Thanks Ellen–buon appetito!
There! You’ve done it again! I have already had dinner, looked at this picture, and now I am “hungry” all over again! Looks so delicious!
Made this one tonight, to counter the chilly air and my sore throat. Delicious – thank you!
Definitely want to try this one! Can you tell me what brand of vegetable stock cubes you use? It’s so hard to find bouillon that doesn’t have some form of MSG (often hiding in seemingly innocent phrases like “natural spices,” “yeast extract,” “soy protein isolate” etc. http://www.truthinlabeling.org/hiddensources.html
Just an everyday organic veggie stock cube. Rapunzel.
I don’t know where you live…but I do not use cubes. I use a cooking stock called KITCHEN BASICS. It has no gluten, no msg, no added salt. I purchase it in my grocery store. Here is the product website. http://www.kitchenbasics.net
It comes in vegetable, chicken and turkey. I hope you can find it where you live.
Greetings from Florida…Eileen
Thanks for the tip, Eileen.
Yeah Robin, I checked out Rapunzel, it does contain MSG, though it’s not labeled as such. Eileen, I’m afraid the same is true of Kitchen Basics.
http://www.truthinlabeling.org/nomsg.html
This page is very informative:
http://www.happilyunprocessed.com/msg/
I’ve just concluded that the canned Health Valley chicken broth I’ve been using likely contains it too. It seems impossible to avoid in store-bought broth and bouillon. I guess it’s time to start making my own broth at home from leftover bones.
Making your own is best but time consuming. Marigold powder in UK I remember being recommended by many.
I guess you mean Marigold brand veggie bouillon, looked it up, it too contains ingredients that equate to MSG. LIghtbulb moment: miso paste could be used in place of stock or broth. This was confirmed here: http://www.wikihow.com/Use-Miso
Miso has many health benefits.
Found this through Google, from The Miso Book: The Art of Cooking With Miso, by John and Jan Belleme: “Both sweet and dark misos can be used in place of stock. Instead of using beef, chicken, or fish stock in soups and sauces, we often use miso broth. We substitute sweet miso broth for chicken or fish stock, and dark miso broth for beef stock. Add 3 to 4 tablespoons of white miso or 2 to 3 tablespoons of dark miso to a quart of vegetable stock or water. (Of course, you can use more miso if desired.) When stir-frying, try adding a little miso mixed with white wine toward the end of cooking time. This will help deglaze the pan and add moisture and rich flavor to the ingredients.”
So maybe I’ll do that in making your yummy-looking chickpea soup. 🙂
This is interesting I will give it a go–thanks, Jenifer.
Welcome, Robin. Thanks for all the recipe inspiration!