Chickpea Vegetable Soup

I made this delicious soup last night. It was a hearty enough dish for a vegetarian dinner with some crusty bread for dipping.

The key to the recipe is the broth which cooks for an hour before adding the veggies. The parmesan rind is a must!

A few notes:

• I added a tablespoon of Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base to the pot right after I added the 5 cups of water
• I didn’t have rosemary so I used 4 thyme sprigs
• I used 14.5 oz. cans of chickpeas (drained) and diced tomatoes (drained). If you use canned chickpeas, don’t add until Step 2 (below) when the other veggies are added so the beans don’t get too mushy

To make the soup a touch heartier, I added 1/2 cup of ditalini (any small pasta would work. I cooked the ditalini until just shy of al dente in a separate pot, drained, and then added to the soup for the last 10 minutes of cooking

The parmesan – lemon zest mixture is delicious and really elevates the soup. Since I didn’t have rosemary, I just added some Italian seasoning to the mix. I’m looking forward to a bowl for lunch!

Chickpea Vegetable Soup With Parmesan, Rosemary and Lemon

Melissa Clark, NYT Cooking

• 1 whole clove
• ½ onion, sliced root to stem so it stays intact, peeled
• 1 pound dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and drained
• 1 sprig rosemary, plus 1 teaspoon finely chopped leaves
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 fresh bay leaves or 1 dried
• â…“ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 ½ tablespoons kosher salt, more to taste
• 1 small Parmesan rind, plus 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1 cup diced tomatoes, canned or fresh
• 2 medium carrots, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
• 2 celery stalks, sliced 1/4-inch thick
• Zest of 1 lemon
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

1. Insert the clove into the onion. Put the onion in a large pot with the chickpeas, rosemary sprig, garlic, bay leaves, olive oil, salt and cheese rind. Add 5 cups water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about an hour, or until chickpeas are tender.
2. Add the tomatoes, carrots and celery, cover loosely, and simmer until the vegetables are soft, about 25 minutes longer. While soup simmers, mix the chopped rosemary, grated Parmesan, lemon zest and pepper in a small bowl.
3. Season the soup to taste and ladle into bowls. Sprinkle with the Parmesan mixture.