Name: Chickpea Soup – Zuppa de Ceci
Yield: 1
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 500g dried chickpeas; 4 tablespoons olive oil; 2 onions – finely chopped; 1 roasted red pepper – diced; 3 cloves garlic – smashed and chopped; 1 teaspoon red chilli pepper flakes; 1 bay leaf; 1 liter (4 cups) chicken stock; 5 thin slices of Parma ham – roughly chopped; Parmesan cheese – grated to garnish; Truffle olive oil – to garnish

During the Winter months, I love cooking up a hot soup during the day.

When it's cold outside, chickpea soup is what I call comfort food, especially when served with a piece of fresh bread that's still warm from the oven.

Although you could use tinned chickpeas, I highly recommend planning ahead and soaking dry chickpeas over night. They're just better.

The texture of these chickpeas that have been slow cooked until tender takes this soup to the next level.

OK, I'm not going to go on and on about a soup.

It's just a soup FFS. But if you're looking for an easy lunch or dinner, recipes don't get much better or easier than this one. Give it a go and let me know what you think.

If you like this recipe, you might like to try some of these too...

Chicken and chorizo risotto
Italian style pan seared ribeye steaks
Pork pasta with paprika and garlic
Homemade split pea soup
Caprese salad

Recipe

Chickpea Soup – Zuppa de Ceci

Ingredients

500g dried chickpeas
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions – finely chopped
1 roasted red pepper – diced
3 cloves garlic – smashed and chopped
1 teaspoon red chilli pepper flakes
1 bay leaf
1 liter (4 cups) chicken stock
5 thin slices of Parma ham – roughly chopped
Parmesan cheese – grated to garnish
Truffle olive oil – to garnish

Instructions

Soak the chickpeas in water overnight.
When ready to cook, heat the olive oil in a large pan and sauté the onions and red pepper until the onion is soft and translucent.
Add the garlic and chilli pepper flakes to the pan and sauté for a further minute or so.
Pour in the chickpeas, stock and bay leaf and simmer for about 90 minutes until the chickpeas are tender.
Remove half of the chickpeas from the soup and blend until very smooth.
Return the blended chickpeas to the should and toss in the Parma ham pieces. Simmer for a further ten minutes.
Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and drizzle a little truffle oil.
Serve with warmed crusty bread and a glass of your favorite white wine.