How to Cook Chickpea Soup with Spicy Sausage

Here’s a warm and hearty chickpea soup for all occasions!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lbs. hot Italian pork sausage – casings removed
• 1 can (15 oz.) chickpeas – drained
• ½ cup chopped celery
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 cup chopped onions
• ½ cup chopped carrots
• 1 can (15oz) crushed tomatoes
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ½ tsp black pepper – or to taste
• 4 cups kale – chopped

METHOD:

1. Cook oil and garlic in a large saucepan over medium heat until the garlic begins to color and gets soft. Remove and discard the garlic, leaving only the oil in the pan. Try to reserve about 3 tbsp. of the garlic oil in a little bowl and let the rest remain in the pan.
2. Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the sausage to the pan then cook and continue to stir.
3. When the sausages turned brown and they are starting to crumble, remove them from the pan and drain excess oil on paper towels.
4. Add the onions and carrots back to the pan and cook until slightly tender, stirring occasionally.
5. Add the broth, tomatoes, chickpeas and pepper. Stir well to combine all ingredients and then add the sausages. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes.
6. Stir in the kale, which has been washed and torn into big pieces. Cook until the kale is wilted – about 10 minutes.
7. Special note: If you are not fond of a spicy flavor, you can definitely use mild-hot Italian sausages instead. If you are not fond of kale, you can also use arugula, savoy cabbage or spinach. There are lots of choices!
8. When finally cooked, ladle the soup into bowls and add a little of the reserved garlic oil on top of each bowl. In our house, we always pass the grated cheese to sprinkle on top. But that’s just us and you can try it as well!

Buon Mangiata!