Chickpea And Escarole Soup With Crispy Bread Crumbs Recipes

CHICKPEA AND ESCAROLE SOUP

Steps:

• Roughly chop the escarole and place in a large bowl. Cover with cold water. Set aside.
• In a large pot, heat the oil over high heat. Add the onion. Season with a pinch of salt. Stir to distribute. Cover. Immediately turn heat to low. Cook for 15 minutes or until onions are translucent and beginning to take on some color.
• Remove the lid from the pot, and add the escarole, scooping it from the bowl of water with your hands, leaving the water behind - some water clinging to the greens is fine. Let the escarole cook for a minute undisturbed, then use tongs to stir and encourage it to wilt down, which will happen quickly, 1-2 minutes.
• Add the chickpeas and their cooking liquid - if you are using the slow cooker chickpea recipe, you can dump the entire contents of the slow cooker into the pot (remove the onion half and bay leaf first). This is roughly 6 heaping cups of chickpeas and 4 cups of cooking liquid. Add 4 more cups of water. Add the parmesan rind if using. Season with freshly cracked pepper. Let simmer 25-30 minutes or until the broth, chickpeas and escarole taste nicely seasoned. Taste for salt. If you are using the slow cooker chickpeas, whose broth is nicely seasoned, plus a parmesan rind, you likely won't need to add more salt. But if not, add salt to taste.
• To make the crusty bread, heat a large skillet over medium heat with some olive oil. Cook slices of bread on one side until golden. Flip, and cook the other side till crisp and golden.
• Ladle soup into bowls. Dunk in a slice of olive oil toasted bread. Crack pepper over top. Shave parmesan over top if you wish.

CHICKPEA AND ESCAROLE SOUP WITH CRISPY BREAD CRUMBS RECIPE

Steps:

• Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large Dutch oven or saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and a generous pinch of salt and cook, stirring until starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the chile flakes and garlic and cook, stirring, for another minute. Add the tomatoes and their juice and another large pinch of salt and cook, uncovered and lightly mashing the tomatoes as they cook, until they break down and get thick, about 5 minutes.
• Rinse out the tomato can with about ¼ cup of water and add to the pot along with the chicken broth, chickpeas, potatoes and the rind from the wedge of Parmesan. Season with another generous pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and simmer, partially covered, until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in the escarole, season with salt and simmer for another 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the breadcrumbs and a generous pinch of salt and cook, stirring often, until golden but not burned, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool.
• To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and top with bread crumbs, lots of grated Parmesan cheese, a drizzle of olive oil and some parsley, if using.

PASTA WITH ESCAROLE AND CHICKPEAS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds, then stir in the escarole, chickpeas, 1/4 teaspoon salt and the red pepper flakes; cover and cook until the escarole wilts, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook as the label directs. After a few minutes, remove 1 1/2 cups of the pasta cooking water and add to the skillet with the escarole mixture; simmer, uncovered, until the liquid is reduced by half and the escarole is tender, about 5 minutes. When the pasta is done, reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain. Add the pasta to the skillet and cook, tossing to combine, 1 minute; add some of the reserved cooking water if the pasta seems dry. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and toss. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese.