Chickpea Vegetable Soup With Parmesan and Rosemary

This recipe uses dried garbanzo beans (or chick peas), but you could just as easily use a couple of cans if you like. Just be sure to rinse and drain them to remove some of the sodium of the canned beans and reduce the cooking time. Adapted from a recipe of Melissa Clark, NY Times Food Editor.

• Ready In: 2 hrs 20 mins
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 1  whole clove
• 1⁄2 onion, sliced root to stem so it stays intact and peeled
• 1  lb dried garbanzo beans, soaked overnight and drained
• 1  sprig fresh rosemary, plus 1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary leaves
• 3  garlic cloves, minced
• 2  fresh bay leaves or 1  dried bay leaf
• 1⁄3 cup olive oil
• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1  small  parmesan rind, plus 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1  cup diced tomato (canned or fresh)
• 2  medium carrots, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
• 2  celery ribs, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 1  lemon, zest of
• 1⁄4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Directions

1. Insert the pointy end of the clove into the onion, then place in a large pot with the chickpeas, rosemary sprig, garlic, bay leaves, olive oil, salt and cheese rind; add 5 cups water and bring to a boil over high heat.
2. Reduce heat to low, cover, simmer until chickpeas are tender, about 1 hour.
3. Add the tomatoes, carrots, and celery; cover loosely, then simmer until vegetables are soft, about 25 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the chopped rosemary, grated Parmesan, lemon zest and pepper.
5. Ladle soup into individual serving bowls, sprinkling the Parmesan mixture on top of each.