Chickpea Ribollita with Sourdough Croutons

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"Ribollita is a vehicle for bread & Parm and that is why I love it!"
-- @thefeedfeed

Recipe Intro From thefeedfeed

I would argue that there are plenty of great things about winter. Sweaters, lattes, snow days, fuzzy socks, and SOUP! Rather than "making plans" and "hanging with friends" on a Saturday, I prefer to make a big ol' pot of soup in the comfort of my cozy kitchen. This ribollita was born out of an intense craving for BREAD and the fact that I had cooked an enormous pot of chickpeas the day before (this is how everybody spends their 20s, right?). While most ribollitas are made with white beans, I found that garbanzos did the trick, too!

I like to take half of the cooked chickpeas and pulse them up in the food processor into a smooth paste to add to the broth. This slightly bulks up the soup without giving it any weird, gritty texture. After the soup has simmered on the stove, I tore up a crusty loaf of sourdough, placed the torn bits on the top of the soup, and drizzled them with more oil to make some crispy, crunchy croutons. Any tomato-based soup is incomplete without a heavy grating of Parmesan, so I didn't skip a beat to finish it off as so. My roommate was a little under the weather, but lucky for her, this soup APPEARED and she was magically healed. That's Chef AND Dr. Tane, to you!

Still have chickpeas on the brain? Watch us make homemade hummus here!

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  • Recipe Card
Prep time 25mins
Cook time 35mins
Serves or Makes: 8-10

Recipe Card

ingredients

  • 4 cups chickpeas, cooked, divided
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 3 stalks celery, chopped
  • 1/2 small green cabbage, cored and chopped
  • 5 large cloves garlic, sliced
  • Kosher salt
  • Black peppercorns, freshly ground to taste
  • 1 tablespoon Simply Organic Dried Oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon Simply Organic Crushed Red Pepper, optional
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 3/4 cup dry white wine
  • 1 (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and juices reserved
  • 6 cups vegetable broth, or chicken broth
  • Parmesan rind, optional
  • 1 bunch lacinato kale, de-stemmed and torn
  • 1/2 medium loaf (about 5 ounces) sourdough, torn
  • Parmesan, freshly grated, for garnish
  • 1 lemon, zested and juiced, for garnish

Method

  • Step 1

    Preheat oven to 450°F.

  • Step 2

    Mash 2 cups chickpeas in the bowl of a food processor until it reaches a paste-like consistency. You may need to thin it out with some water. Set aside.

  • Step 3

    Heat ¼ cup oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat and sweat the onion, carrot, celery, and cabbage, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Season with dried oregano, kosher salt and black pepper. Add tomato paste and cook until fragrant, 3 minutes. Deglaze with white wine and cook until reduced by half, another 3 minutes.

  • Step 4

    Crush tomatoes with your hands and add to pot, cooking until slightly caramelized, 5 minutes. Add reserved juices and broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Add Parmesan rind (if using), chickpea paste, reserved 2 cups chickpeas, and kale. Stir until chickpea paste is homogenous and kale is slightly wilted, 2 minutes. Top soup with torn bread and drizzle with reserved 2 tablespoons oil. Transfer to oven and cook until croutons are golden brown and crispy, 15 minutes. Serve with grated Parmesan, lemon juice, and lemon zest immediately.