Chef Notes: Puree of Garbanzo Soup with Kale Chips

October 30, 2013 Amanda

During the colder months we live on soups and stews. It’s just so cozy to come home to piping hot soup and maybe some crusty bread or grilled cheese sandwiches. It’s pretty hard to screw up a soup and it’s an easy way to sneak less popular vegetables, and sometimes even fruits, into your families’ bellies. I’m kind of famous for my “kitchen sink” soups, which are great for using up leftovers. But this garbanzo bean soup was a big hit. Sometimes I’ll make tiny meatballs or sauté up a bit of smoked sausage just to make it extra filling but it’s fantastic just as it is. And the crispy kale chips on top are a show stopper. Go ahead and make a big batch while you’re at it. They make a great toping for virtually all soups and are a great snack to boot.

Ingredients

For the soup:
Olive oil
1 large onion, roughly chopped
2 large carrots, roughly chopped
2 large celery stalks, roughly chopped
2 quarts chicken stock
1 pint dry white wine
Sachet:
2 bay leaves
4 sprigs fresh thyme
6 sprigs parsley
10 whole black peppercorns
3 – 15 oz cans garbanzo beans, drained (or 6 cups of cooked, drained garbanzo beans)
1 cup sour cream
1 Freshly ground nutmeg
Salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Garnish with kale chips, Extra virgin olive oil and serve with crustini
For the Kale chips:
1 – 1 lb bag of ready to eat kale
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
For the Crostini:
1 french baguette, cut into thin slices on the bias
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Method

For the soup:

In a large stock pot, sauté the onion, carrot, and celery in a generous amount of olive oil until the onion is soft.

Season with salt and pepper.

Add the stock, wine, and sachet and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes or until the carrots are very tender.

Add the garbanzo beans, a bit more salt and pepper and simmer for a few minutes, until the garbanzo beans are heated through.

Remove from heat and, either with a stick blender or a traditional blender in batches, blend until smooth. Stir in sour cream and nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste.

For the kale chips:

spread a couple of big handfuls of the cleaned kale onto a large baking or cookie sheet.

Drizzle well with olive oil, sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper and toss until well covered.

Bake at 375 for about 5-7 minutes, until crispy.

For the crostini:

place the baguette slices on a cookie or baking sheet, brush or spray both sides with olive oil. Sprinkle kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper on the tops and bake until golden brown.

To serve, ladle the soup into individual bowls, top with a few kale chips, drizzle with olive oil, and place a couple of crostini’s on the edge of the bowl.

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