Soups on! Chickpea and Escarole Soup

A comforting bowl of deliciousness 💛

You’re receiving this email as a subscriber to our free newsletter. Grazie grazie mille! 💛  If you know someone who might enjoy joining us at the table, please pass it along.

As I type this post, snow is falling lightly outside the window – the first of the season. We haven’t had much appreciable snow for years and this storm is to be no different – our forecast calls for it soon to turn to rain. A soup pot is warming on the stove; a constant since my first run-in with Covid on Christmas Day. (Luckily, a very mild case which gave me a few very welcomed days on the couch.) Now these January days offer another opportunity to reset from the excess and whirlwind of the holidays – and for us, that means big ‘ole pots of soup on repeat.

This soup took me by surprise. Admittedly, I do not buy escarole often. I tend to ignore those beautiful heads of fluffy green when I am in the market – but this time, the heads looked so fresh and vibrant that I just couldn’t walk on by. So I decided to make a pot of soup that our Mom made on occasion – a marriage of escarole with creamy chickpeas.

And now, I am at a complete loss as to why I do not cook with escarole more often. We have been eating this soup for a few days – and after each bowl, one of us invariably comments – ‘Wow this is really flavorful.’ Escarole is the perfect green for soups – sturdy and silky; adding a subtle taste without any trace of bitterness. It marries beautifully with the creamy chickpeas, making for a delicious light soup that is quite refreshing.

If you do make this soup at home, I am going to make a plea for starting with dried chickpeas. Yes, it is an extra (easy) step that requires a little planning – but boy, do dried chickpeas make this soup sing. The flavorful chickpea cooking liquid is used in the soup making everything meld together into a steaming bowl of deliciousness. With so few ingredients, the extra punch of flavor brings it all together. (However, despite my plea, do know that you absolutely can make this soup using canned chickpeas and stock with good results.) I have written the recipe using either dried or canned chickpeas – so you can use either approach (but, nudge, nudge – dried chickpeas are the way to go.)

One little trick that hopefully you are already doing when making soup, sauce, or beans is tossing in the rind from that last block of Parmigiano-Reggiano you purchased. Throughout the year, as I use up blocks of cheese, I toss the rinds into a bag that I keep in the freezer. No need to thaw the rind before you use it – just toss it in the pot and let it simmer away. (My local market has also started selling the rinds so you can most likely find these in your local market.) This unami-bomb adds a slightly nutty, savory flavor as it softens into whatever you have tossed it into. The rind will turn squishy – so remember to remove it from the pot before serving.

Wishing everyone a warm and magical new year. ❤️ You will find me in the veggie aisle buying more escarole!

I look forward to sharing this beautiful new year together  …. lots of fun things on the horizon.

xx Michele ♥️

---

Get the recipe on OurItalianTable.com!

---