And suddenly it’s back, this soupy weather. It wasn’t long ago that the idea of putting on socks was as far away as Saturn is from Earth. I’m still struggling with the pumpkins at the market and prefer to use chard or broccoli. To my great delight, my butcher has recently started offering Italian salsiccia at the farmers market. Not only are they perfect for a quick sauce for pasta, but they also work well in a soup. The rest of the world probably puts them on the grill or in the pan.
Thanks to the dried tomatoes and grated cheese, a warming Italian feeling comes into play here. I recently tried the “semi-dry” snack tomatoes and, to be honest, I’m not particularly keen on them. Just in case someone should consider it, because of less oil and stuff. Somehow they lacked the intense aroma that is so typical of dried tomatoes. They couldn’t provide that, so it’s better to use the sun-dried tomatoes from the jar that are floating in oil, because the aromatic oil can be used to decorate the soup.
Chickpea parmesan soup with dried tomatoes, chard and salsiccia
For four
2 tbsp olive oil
500g raw Salsiccia, skin removed
1 large vegetable onion, chopped
1 – 2 stalks of celery, finely chopped
100 g dried tomatoes in olive oil, drained and chopped (reserve the oil)
4 – 5 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1.5 L chicken broth (ideally home-made, of course)
2 cans of chickpeas (400g each), drained
300 g chard, spinach or kale, coarsely chopped (chard with or without stems)
80 g Parmesan or Grano Padano, grated
½ cup of cream
Basil for sprinkling
Sea salt
Heat the olive oil in a wide pot to medium temperature and fry the salsiccia in it. Divide into as small crumbs as possible.
After about 5 minutes, add the onion and celery and let it soften for another 5 – 8 minutes. Add garlic and sun-dried tomatoes and cook for another minute.
Add the chicken broth and chickpeas, increase the temperature and bring to the boil.
Reduce the temperature and simmer gently for about 15 minutes. Add the chard or spinach and simmer for another 4 minutes with the lid closed (with kale it takes about twice as long).
Remove from heat and stir in cream, basil and Parmesan. Season with salt.
If you like, sprinkle more Parmesan on top and spread a little of the oil from the dried tomatoes over it.
A glass of red wine and some bread or baguette and the world is a little more beautiful.
