Known as Zuppa de Ceci in Italian, this is a great soup for a starter or for a quick weeknight dinner. Best — it doesn’t require lots of far-flung ingredients, and lets you cull staples from your fridge and larder.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ onion, peeled and chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 small Yukon gold potato, optional
- 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and lightly crushed
- Pinch of red chili flakes
- 3 cups chicken stock or water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 6 tablespoons broken capellini or other tiny pasta
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- chopped parsley or chives for garnish
DIRECTIONS
- Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a 4 -quart saucepan and stir in the onion and garlic.
- Cook for 2 minutes, reduce the heat to low, and stir in the potato (if using ) , and cook 2 minutes more.
- Add the chickpeas, red chili flakes, chicken stock, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook stirring for 20 minutes.
- Add the capellini and cook for 8 minutes more.
- Stir in the lemon juice, adjust the seasoning
- Serve with the chopped parsley or chives
- Serves 4-6
From: California Cooking and Southern Style by Frances Schultz, recipe by Stephanie Valentine