Dinner

This was surprisingly good!

 Lousy picture but really good soup

CHICKPEA VEGETABLE SOUP 

w/ Parmesan and Rosemary

This is from that big NYT collection of snow day recipes that I posted earlier in the week, at least I hope I posted them here, I did Facebook - and this one really stood out. A) for being vegetarian and B) I did not have to buy a whole lot of strange or expensive things to make it.

Here is the picture from the article and it really does sort of look like this.

I double this and it made a TON - so if you are not cooking for a large group, just do a single, but it is really good, and will be there to eat for a while. Also don't be afraid of using the rosemary , which can be really strong in some dishes. I did not have any fresh rosemary , and was just going to use parsley, but Neil talked me into it, and it really gave a good flavor. SO, do get fresh . Also, when you soak your garbanzos over night they will soak up much more water than just white or black beans do, so use a bigger bowl / pot and much more water than you do for normal beans.

INGREDIENTS

• 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
• ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 ½ tablespoons salt, more to taste
• 1 small Parmesan rind, plus 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan 
• ( it is really easy to find parm rind up here, but if you have trouble, just buy a wedge and get if from there )
• 1 cup diced tomatoes, canned or fresh 
• ( I used canned and it was  fine )
• 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

PREPARATION

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.

Do not skip the topping part, the lemon zest and extra cheese add a really nice flavor - and just chop the rosemary really fine - the sprig in the soup cooks to nothing. But do pull out the stem and whole onions before you serve.