Chickpea & Leek Soup
From Cuisine Magazine
Serves 6
Minestra di Ceci e Porri
This is one of my favourite soups for winter. It is rich and hearty enough to serve as a meal on its own and has a beguiling sweetness thanks to the leeks and rosemary. As with most simple Italian dishes, it relies on building the flavour through slow sweating the vegetables (called a soffritto). This is a wonderfully nourishing soup for vegetarians and vegans.
As it's from the Marches region, serve with a Verdicchio, preferably a Castelli di Jesi appellation.
- 1 cup dried non-heat-treated chickpeas
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 celery sticks, finely chopped
- 3 leeks, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon rosemary, very finely chopped
- 1 litre water (or chicken stock)
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 bunch spinach leaves, stems removed, washed and coarsely sliced
- extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
Soak the chickpeas in water overnight. Drain just before using. In a medium saucepan heat the oil. Sauté the onion, celery, leeks, garlic and rosemary very slowly until soft but not coloured. This should take at least 30 minutes. Don't be tempted to add salt at this stage to speed up the sweating of the vegetables; salt will toughen the chickpeas.
Add the drained chickpeas and the water (or chicken stock) and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook until the chickpeas are tender (1-1½ hours), adding extra water if necessary.
Place 2 cups of the soup in a food processor and process until smooth. Add back to the soup, taste and adjust the seasonings. Just before serving add the spinach leaves and cook until wilted. Serve in bowls and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Serves 6.
Note: If you can't find non-heat-treated chickpeas, use 2 x 400g cans and start with less water (500ml), then simmer for 30 minutes, adding more water if necessary.