Another installment from Jane Rose Adams in her "Tuscan Corner" series. Thanks Jane!
The day before Thanksgiving we kissed our 19 year old daughter goodbye as she boarded a shuttle to the airport. She was off on a three week mission trip to Kenya. I remember thinking how long three weeks would be, how much I’d get done, all the meals I’d prepare for the blog in advance so I’d have an inventory of recipes and pictures..... And then “it” popped into my head: wouldn’t this be a great time to de-clutter, disinfect, scrub carpets and paint her bedroom and bathroom?
Taking full advantage of Parkinson’s Law, (you know the one that says work expands to fit the time available for its completion), I blew the first full week after Thanksgiving with trips to Home Depot staring at color swatches, bringing them home and then eliminating them after Skype chats with Jordan who obviously had her own opinions. Finally we narrowed the field down to blues, and I spent the better part of the next week in sweat pants with blue paint in my hair, trimming, rolling and painting vertical stripes on walls.
This left little time for other creative pursuits and a void in Jodi’s blog last week (I’m sure you hardly noticed). Now with only my Christmas list left hanging over my head, I found time to soak some chickpeas and pull together this rather easy, yet hearty (and healthy) Tuscan soup. Just in time because Jordan returns tomorrow night.
Enjoy!
Pashto Di Ceci
(Thick Chickpea Soup)
*The recipe below serves four people, but I doubled it
1/2 pound of dried chickpeas, soaked overnight before cooking
2 sprigs of rosemary
3 cloves of garlic
3T extra virgin olive oil, plus additional at table
2 large tomatoes, skinned and chopped (Instead I used a cherry tomatoes sauteed in olive oil until they blistered)
1/2 C of chicken broth (I used considerably more because the pasta makes this soup very thick...just keep adding to your desire if you want a thinner soup)
3/4 C small soup pasta (tubettini, orzo, pastina)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Cook the chickpeas slowly, in water to cover by about 2 inches, together with 1 sprig of rosemary and 1 clove of garlic. This process takes about 45 minutes to an hour. Once cooked, drain, reserving the water. Puree about 3/4 of the chickpeas with enough of the reserved water to make a thick puree. Return the puree and the chickpeas to their pot.
Squash the remaining garlic cloves in the oil over a medium heat. When the oil begins to bubble around the garlic, add the tomatoes and remaining rosemary leaves, Add the chicken broth, and cook for 10 minutes. Puree and add to the chickpea soup along with the pasta. Cook until al dente, about 10 minutes. If the soup is too thick add more reserved water or chicken stock. Taste for salt, add a good grinding of pepper and serve with fresh oil at the table. And of course you can’t forget the Tuscan bread!
*If you enjoy “heat” try adding some red pepper flakes or ground cayenne to the soup. Additionally a little ginger and a dash of curry always go well with chick peas!
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