Hawks Ceci and Ditalini Soup. Post it man!

[dlslith]

Hawk, You've had my mouth watering since you said you were going to post this. Love to see how you make it.

[seahawk100]

K, Slith, Here ya go.

I would like to take the credit for this recipe, but it came from one of the modern masters of Italian cuisine, Marcella Hazan. This particular recipe is from "Marcella's Italian Kitchen," (Alfred A Knoff, New York, 1986). So Slith, you should probably change the heading.

Pasta e Ceci

Pasta and Chick-Pea Soup

19oz. can of Chick-peas
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup chopped onion- I use Vidalia's
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon chopped rosemary
1/2 teaspoon chopped sage
3/4 cup canned Italian peeled plum tomatoes- drained
3 cups of Homemade chicken broth-
(or 1 cup quality canned broth plus two cups of water)
1/4 pound Dittalini pasta- I like pasta, so I use 1/2 pound instead
sea salt
Fresh Black Pepper in grinder
3 Tablespoons chopped Italian parsley- or just plain curly parsley
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (Parmesan) for the table


1. Empty the can of chick-peas with it's liquid into a bowl.
Squeeze the peels off each chick-pea, one by one. (takes a few minutes, but worth it.) Put the peeled peas into a small bowl.
When all the chick-peas have been peeled, put them back into the larger bowl with their own liquid.

2.Put the olive oil and the chopped onions into a large saucepan and turn on the heat to medium.When the onion turns pale gold, add the garlic, rosemary, and sage. Stir once or twice. When the garlic turns very pale gold, add the tomatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes.

3.Add the chick-peas drained of their liquid, stir, and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes.

4.Pour the contents of the pot into a bowl- large measuring bowl with pour point works best. then puree' them through a food mill back into the pot. Add the broth and turn on the heat to medium-high.

5. When the liquid comes to a boil, add the pasta, cover the pot,and turn down the heat to medium. Cook until the pasta is
al-dente- tender, but firm to the bite. Taste and correct for salt and add a few grindings of pepper. Turn off the heat, stir in the parsley, and serve with freshly grated cheese on the side.

This is one of the best winter soup recipes that I have ever had. Delicious on a chilly fall day, or cold winter night. Hmmmmm.

Enjoy Guys!

Hawk

[dlslith]

Sounds fantastic Hawk. I am going to give it a go. Thanks for posting it!