minestrone de ceci
minestrone with chick peas
ingredients
Serves 4
150g of chunky soup pasta
200g of dried chickpeas
1 hock of Parma ham or 120g of pork rind (cut into strips)
1 carrot
1 onion
A stick of celery
2 stems of cardoon thistle or 2 artichokes
10 escarole leaves or other greens
4-5 sun dried tomatoes
Salt
Extra virgin olive oil
method
This recipe contains a few ingredients that you may find difficult to
find outside of Italy but don’t worry there are substitutes. The
end pieces of Parma hams (the hock) make a wonderful base for a soup,
just ask your local delicatessen to save it for you when they come to
the end of the ham as a lot of the time it is only discarded. Cardi or
cardoon are another ingredient that you may or may not find difficult
to find outside of Italy but is very similar in flavour to artichokes
( it is actually from the same family) so you can substitute without too
much difference to the flavour of the recipe.
The chickpeas should be soaked in cold water for at least six hours before
you begin to make the soup.
This recipe could not be easier. Roughly chop all of the vegetables and
the sun dried tomatoes and add to a large deep pan with the hock of ham
or strips of pork rind. Add some olive oil and cook over a medium heat
turning the ingredients together so that all the flavours begin to amalgamate
together. Season with salt and then add enough water so that the vegetables
are covered. Cover the pan and cook on a low heat for about 1 hour.
Add your pasta to the soup and cook until al dente (still with a bite
and not soggy). Finish the minestrone with a lug of extra virgin olive
oil.