Valencian Chickpea And Chard Soup Recipes

CHICKPEAS WITH CHARD

Steps:

• Chop 1 bunch Swiss chard. Saute the stems with 1 each chopped onion and red jalapeno in olive oil over medium-high heat until softened, 3 minutes; season with salt. Add one 15-ounce can chickpeas (drained, liquid reserved); cook, stirring, 3 minutes. Add 2 minced garlic cloves; cook 30 seconds. Add the chard leaves along with the chickpea liquid and 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin; simmer until the chard wilts. Stir in the juice of 1/2 lemon.

VALENCIAN CHICKPEA AND CHARD SOUP

Steps:

• Drain the chickpeas and combine with 6 cups water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer 1 hour. Set a strainer over a bowl and drain the chickpeas. Measure the broth and add enough water to make 6 cups.
• Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven, and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme, parsley and paprika, and stir for about 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes cook down slightly and smell fragrant, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the chickpeas, broth, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer, cover and simmer 30 to 60 minutes, until the chickpeas are thoroughly tender. Add the greens and bring back to a simmer. Cover and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, until the greens are very tender. Taste and adjust seasonings.
• When ready to serve, if using the egg and lemon, beat together the egg yolks and lemon juice in a bowl. Making sure that the broth is not boiling, whisk in a ladleful of broth from the soup. Turn off the heat under the soup and add the mixture back into the soup while stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon. The eggs should not curdle but should cloud the soup.
• Spoon a few tablespoons of rice into each soup bowl and ladle in the soup. Serve hot.

MOROCCAN CHICKPEAS WITH CHARD

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large pot over high heat. Add onion and jalapeño and sauté until limp, 3 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, salt, turmeric, paprika, cinnamon, cumin, black pepper and cayenne and sauté until they release their fragrance, about 2 minutes. Add tomato paste and sauté for another minute, until darkened but not burned. (If tomato paste looks too dark too quickly, lower heat.)
• Add fennel, chard stems, carrot and turnip and continue to sauté until vegetables start to soften, about 10 minutes. Add chickpeas and water to barely cover.
• Return heat to high if you lowered it and bring to a simmer. Partly cover pot, lower heat to medium low, and simmer for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until chickpeas are softened. Add more water if needed (this should be like a stew).
• Add chard leaves, apricots and preserved lemon to pot and continue simmering until chard is tender, about 5 minutes longer. Season with more salt if desired, and serve garnished with cilantro and reserved fennel fronds.

TUSCAN CHARD AND CANNELLINI BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook the bacon, onion, garlic, nutmeg, and red pepper flakes until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Pour in chicken broth and cannellini beans, and bring the mixture to a boil; stir in sun-dried tomatoes and the piece of Parmesan cheese rind. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook while you prepare the chard, about 10 minutes.
• Cut the stems from the chard, and slice the stems into pieces about 3/4-inch long. Cut the chard leaves into 1-inch wide ribbons. Stir the chard stems and pasta into the soup, setting aside the leaves. Reduce heat to a simmer, and gently simmer until the pasta is tender, about 10 minutes. Stir the chard leaves, sage, and basil into the soup, and simmer just until wilted, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Ladle soup into bowls and top with Parmesan cheese and a drizzle of olive oil, if desired.

RED CURRY CHICKPEAS AND SWISS CHARD

Steps:

• Cook a 15.5-ounce can chickpeas (rinsed and patted dry) in olive oil in a skillet over high heat until crisp, 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl. Chop 1 pound Swiss chard. Cook the stems and 2 smashed garlic cloves in oil until soft. Add the chard leaves; cook until wilted. Stir in 4 teaspoons red curry paste and 2 tablespoons water; cook until dry, 2 to 4 minutes. Add to the chickpeas; serve with lime wedges.

VALENCIAN CHICKPEA AND CHARD SOUP

Steps:

• Soak chickpeas in 1 quart of water for 4 to 6 hours or overnight; drain chickpeas and combine, in a large soup pot or Dutch oven, with 6 cups of water.
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, for 1 hour; drain, reserving broth and adding water to bring the liquid back up to 6 cups.
• Dry out pot and heat the oil over medium heat; cook onions until tender, about 5 minutes.
• Add garlic, thyme, parsley, and paprika; stir.
• Add in tomatoes and cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes cook down slightly, about 5 to 10 minutes.
• Add in chickpeas and broth; season with salt and pepper.
• Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook until chickpeas are tender, 30 to 60 minutes.
• Add the chard, cover, and simmer until the greens are very tender, 15 to 20 minutes; turn off heat.
• If serving with the optional garnishes, whisk the eggs and lemon juice together, temper with a ladle-ful of broth (not boiling!), stir into soup, stirring vigorously so that eggs do not curdle, but rather clouds the soup.
• Spoon some rice into each serving bowl and top with soup.

CHICKPEA SOUP WITH SWISS CHARD AND TOMATOES

Steps:

• In a heavy soup pot over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion and sauté, stirring frequently, until wilted but not browned, 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for a few seconds. Then add the tomatoes, raise the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, just until the tomatoes begin to break down and form a sauce, about 10 minutes.
• While the tomatoes are cooking, cut off and discard the bottom third of the Swiss chard stems. Cut the remaining stem portions crosswise into pieces 1/4 inch wide. Working with several chard leaves at a time, stack them, roll them up lengthwise and then cut crosswise to form ribbons 1/4 inch wide.
• Add the chard, chickpeas and water to the soup pot and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook uncovered, adjusting the heat as necessary to maintain a simmer, until the vegetables are tender and the flavors have blended, 30-45 minutes. The soup will be brothy and chunky.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into shallow bowls and serve at once.