using up what I had on hand. Jacques says it was one of the best soups I have even made. I want to write it down. I am finding that Swiss chard and garbanzos are good together, and I am always looking for ways to use chard. The fennel oil comes from another Swiss Chard/Garbanzo recipe I will post next. I had some ham jus defrosted to add to the soup but it had so much flavor on it's own I skipped it.
2 cups dried garbanzo beans, cooked until very tender, with juices, reheated if necessary
Fennel-scented olive oil (see following recipe. I suppose you could add some ground fennel but I don't think the flavor would be as intense.)
I onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
Salt
5 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
A few cups water
A dozen or so large Swiss chard leaves with ribs.
Pepper
Sweat the onions and carrot in the fennel oil with a little salt in a covered pot, stirring occasionally, until tender. Add the garlic, turn up the heat, and sauté until the garlic is fragrant, then douse with a couple cups of water so that garlic doesn't burn.
Meanwhile, separate the chard leaves from the ribs. Trim the ribs and pull off strings (like celery) and dice just in time to add to the soup pot. (they will discolor if diced in advance.) Cut the green leaves into strips and set aside.
Add the chard stems to the pot and simmer slowly until they are quite tender, about 30 minutes.
Add the beans and their cooking liquid, bring back to the simmer and cook a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper
Turn up the heat, add the chard leaves and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Thin with more water if necessary.
Serve with crusty bread
2 cups dried garbanzo beans, cooked until very tender, with juices, reheated if necessary
Fennel-scented olive oil (see following recipe. I suppose you could add some ground fennel but I don't think the flavor would be as intense.)
I onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
Salt
5 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
A few cups water
A dozen or so large Swiss chard leaves with ribs.
Pepper
Sweat the onions and carrot in the fennel oil with a little salt in a covered pot, stirring occasionally, until tender. Add the garlic, turn up the heat, and sauté until the garlic is fragrant, then douse with a couple cups of water so that garlic doesn't burn.
Meanwhile, separate the chard leaves from the ribs. Trim the ribs and pull off strings (like celery) and dice just in time to add to the soup pot. (they will discolor if diced in advance.) Cut the green leaves into strips and set aside.
Add the chard stems to the pot and simmer slowly until they are quite tender, about 30 minutes.
Add the beans and their cooking liquid, bring back to the simmer and cook a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper
Turn up the heat, add the chard leaves and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Thin with more water if necessary.
Serve with crusty bread
