Chickpea Soup

Adapted from Mark Bittman's _How To Cook Everything Vegetarian_ by Robin Bellinger at Serious Eats. http://bit.ly/8Z6Tac If you wanted to make this with canned chickpeas, you need 3 cups of chickpeas and 2 cups of water or broth.

• Ready In: 40 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1  cup dried garbanzo beans
• 2  quarts water, divided
• 3⁄4 cup  homemade  breadcrumbs
• 4  tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1  medium onion, chopped
• 1  teaspoon  smoked sweet paprika (pimenton) (optional) or 1  teaspoon cumin (optional)
•  salt
•  ground black pepper
• 1  tablespoon  minced garlic
• 2  tablespoons white wine (optional)
• 1  head escarole, cleaned and chopped into bite-size pieces

Directions

1. Cover chickpeas with 1 qt water. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature overnight. Drain and place soaked chickpeas in a pot. Cover with the second quart of water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook 45-60 minutes or until tender.
2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F Toss breadcrumbs with olive oil and spread on baking sheet. Toast 5-10 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until golden. Watch carefully to prevent burning. Transfer to a bowl as soon as browned to prevent overcooking.
3. In a medium saucepan, heat remaining 2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and saute until softened and beginning to color, 10-15 minutes. Add pimenton or cumin, salt, pepper and garlic. Cook until garlic is fragrant, 1 minute. Add wine if using, and cook until almost dry.
4. Add 2 cups of chickpea cooking liquid to saucepan; drain chickpeas of remaining liquid and add chickpeas to saucepan. Bring to a simmer. Add escarole and simmer until greens are softened, 5 minutes. Sprinkle generously with toasted bread crumbs before serving.