Creamy Chickpea Soup

Starting the night before, place the dried beans in a bowl and cover with water. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest until needed. Drain the beans and place in a pot and cover with fresh water. Bring the water to a boil, then decrease to a simmer and cook until the beans are tender. This may take 30 to 45 minutes depending on the beans. Drain and let sit in a colander while you prepare the soup flavor base.

In a large soup pot, heat the oil and then add the pancetta, carrots, onion, celery and garlic. Cook until the vegetables are tender and the pancetta pieces are lightly browned. Remove about 1 1/2 cups of the chickpeas and set aside until later. Return the rest of the chickpeas to the pot with the vegetables and cover everything with broth by at least 1 inch. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and slowly simmer for another 20 to 30 minutes or so to develop and meld the flavors. Season with salt and pepper. Puree the soup until thick and smooth, adding additional broth as needed. Return the soup to the heat and stir in the chickpeas you had set aside early.

Serve in individual bowls topped with some cracked black pepper and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle top of soup with the crispy pancetta bits and serve.

Note: this soup, called Zuppa di Ceci here in Italy, is typical of the “cucina povera” style of cooking when you could create a filling warm dish for your family with a handful of dried beans and a few additional readily available ingredients to flavor the dish . To serve this soup, all it really needs is some cracked black pepper and a drizzle of really good extra virgin olive oil, but it is also great with some crisp pancetta bits as shown in the photo too. This soup freezes well, and actually improves in flavor the next day, so is yet another great soup that can be made ahead of time. Like all soups of this type, serve the soup very warm but not steaming hot so you can really enjoy the rich flavor.