Frank De Carlos Black Chickpea Soup Recipes

FRANK DE CARLO'S BLACK CHICKPEA SOUP

Steps:

• Wash the chickpeas and soak them in water to cover for at least 6 hours, or overnight.
• Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium heat and brown the bones well. Add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Saute for about 5 minutes, or until the onion becomes translucent.
• Add the tomatoes, bay leaf, thyme, drained chickpeas and wine, and add enough water to cover by about an inch. Cover and bring the soup to a boil over medium-high heat, then turn the heat down to low and cook, checking occasionally to make sure the mixture doesn't dry out. (Mine didn't, but if yours does, add water as necessary.) The chickpeas and meat will become tender at about the same time, which could be after 3 hours or more.
• At some point make the croutons: Toss the bread cubes with olive oil. Bake at 325 degrees on a baking sheet; toss occasionally, until beautifully golden. Sprinkle with a little salt and set aside.
• Remove the bones; shred and return the meat to the pot. Reheat, adding the greens and cooking until tender, about 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaf. Beat the eggs, add them and stir. Add 2 handfuls cheese.
• Ladle into bowls; top with cracked pepper and torn basil. Frank finishes with more cheese and more oil. Why not?

FRANK DE CARLO'S BLACK CHICKPEA SOUP

Steps:

• 1. Wash the chickpeas and soak them in water to cover for at least 6 hours, or overnight. 2. Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium heat and brown the bones well. Add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Saute for about 5 minutes, or until the onion becomes translucent. 3. Add the tomatoes, bay leaf, thyme, drained chickpeas and wine, and add enough water to cover by about an inch. Cover and bring the soup to a boil over medium-high heat, then turn the heat down to low and cook, checking occasionally to make sure the mixture doesn't dry out. (Mine didn't, but if yours does, add water as necessary.) The chickpeas and meat will become tender at about the same time, which could be after 3 hours or more. 4. At some point make the croutons: Toss the bread cubes with olive oil. Bake at 325 degrees on a baking sheet; toss occasionally, until beautifully golden. Sprinkle with a little salt and set aside. 5. Remove the bones; shred and return the meat to the pot. Reheat, adding the greens and cooking until tender, about 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaf. Beat the eggs, add them and stir. Add 2 handfuls cheese. 6. Ladle into bowls; top with cracked pepper and torn basil. Frank finishes with more cheese and more oil. Why not?

COMFORT SOUP (CHICKPEA AND BACON)

Steps:

• Saute onion, garlic and bacon together until the onion is soft and translucent. Don't be tempted to drain the bacon fat (I use a rather lean bacon, anyway, and there's not that much fat - if you have tons of it, then remove some). Add the chickpeas, carrots, tomato paste, bay leaf and 1 1/2 quarts water. Season to taste. Bring to a simmer and cook, covered for 1/2 an hour. Add the pearl barley and simmer for another 40-60 minutes, or until the chickpeas and barley are cooked through and the soup is quite thick (if the soup is too thick, thin with a little hot water until you achieve the consistency you desire).
• This was a really satisfying meal with a tossed green salad and garlic bread.

MOROCCAN SPICED CHICKPEA SOUP

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
• Add garlic and onions and saute until onions are translucent (lower heat if browning starts to occur).
• Add spices and saute for 1 minute.
• Add tomatoes, chickpeas, broth and sugar.
• Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Stir. Make sure chickpeas are covered with liquid. If needed, add a little more broth.
• Simmer gently for 45 minutes.
• Remove soup from heat.
• Use a potato masher to mash up some of the chickpeas.
• Stir in spinach and heat through.
• Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

CREAMY FARRO AND CHICKPEA SOUP

Steps:

• Drain chickpeas, and place in a medium earthenware pan or saucepan. Cover with plenty of cold water, and bring to a boil. Add sea salt and bay leaves. Reduce heat, and cook, covered, until very soft, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, heat olive oil and gently cook onion, prosciutto and celery for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are soft but not brown. Drain farro, and add it along with the chicken broth, marjoram and nutmeg to the onion mixture. Cook, partially covered, for about 1 hour.
• Drain chickpeas, reserving the cooking liquid. Discard bay leaves. In a food processor, puree chickpeas with 1 cup of the reserved liquid. Add pureed chickpeas to the farro mixture; if necessary, add more of the cooking liquid from the chickpeas to achieve the consistency of a creamy soup. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Wait 10 minutes before serving, and sprinkle each portion with chopped parsley and a drizzle of olive oil.