Russ Parsons's Soup with Winter Greens and Chickpeas

Well! It's been quite a few weeks, hasn't it? Markets are crashing, our people in Washington and on Wall Street have crazed looks in their eyes, political campaigns are turning unbelievably ugly, and it's all I can do from crawling under the covers and screaming "time out!" It's the crazy season alright, suffused with fear and desperation and anger and shock. Couldn't we all use a bowl of hot soup?

After all, one bright spot in these days is that we are finally, thrillingly, in soup territory. Yes, I'm still nursing a tiny grudge towards the final days of warm weather that seem to have skipped out so eagerly, and I'm hanging on with white knuckles to the last of the blood-red tomatoes I bought at the farmer's market two weeks ago. But mostly I just want to cut coupons, turn the stove down low, and eat soup.

Who better to inaugurate the autumn soup season than Russ Parsons? After all, no one keeps us better fed. And it has been, if my research is correct, a whopping eleven months since I made one of his recipes. (Eleven months. How is that possible? It simply can't be. Russ! Forgive me!) High time, then, to get cracking again. This time with a homey, homely, Italianate minestra that draws its flavor from a few aromatic vegetables, some pungent greens, and a bit of rosemary.

This soup is simple and soothing, and best of all, cheap. It keeps well in the freezer and stretches well, too. It's not very fancy, there's not even chicken broth. But the toasted bread that softens and swells in the soup and the richness of the Parmigiano give it a little luster, dressing up the plain Jane vegetables that gave up their essence to the flavor of the soup.

I twisted in a few grinds of hot red pepper flakes for some added warmth, and next time I might rub the toasts gently with raw garlic before dousing them with soup. And instead of grating the cheese into the soup, I'll definitely plop one of my reserved Parmigiano rinds in at the beginning of the simmer and let it ooze out all its flavor.

Make yourself a bowl of this, turn off the television and the internet, throw away the newspaper with its jarring graphs and large headlines, and try to think about other things: the promise of apple-picking in a few weeks, the giggle of the baby living next door, the color of the leaves on the tree across the street. We'll get through this, too. We will. We will.

Soup with Winter Greens and Chickpeas        
Serves 4 to 6

1/4 cup olive oil
2 carrots, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 onion, diced
1 turnip, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound chopped mixed greens (mustard, kale, turnip, etc.)
Salt
1/2 teaspoon minced rosemary
1 (16-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, or more, to taste plus additional to pass at the table
16 slices baguette, toasted
Freshly ground pepper (I used red pepper flakes)

1. In a heavy soup pot, warm the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the carrots, celery, onion and turnip, cover and cook until they have softened and become aromatic, about 20 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, 2 or 3 minutes.

2. Add the mixed greens, a big handful at a time, stirring and giving them time to soften and shrink before adding the next handful.

3. When all of the greens have cooked, add 8 cups of water, one-half teaspoon salt, the rosemary and chickpeas. If you have a rind of Parmesan cheese lurking in your freezer, add it now. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat; cover and lower the flame to maintain a simmer. Cook until the broth is deeply flavored, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

4. When ready to serve, stir in one-third cup Parmigiano-Reggiano (taste and see if the rind did its job - you can eschew the grated cheese here, if you like) and season to taste with salt and pepper. Arrange two toast slices (rubbed with garlic) in the bottom of each warm soup bowl and ladle the soup over the top. Sprinkle with more cheese to taste. Serve immediately, passing a bowl of cheese to be added at the table.

Comments

[Tammy]

One can never have enough recipes using winter greens. This sounds delicious! Soup's on.

[Mama JJ]

There's lots of chard still left in the garden. I think I know what I need to go do.

-JJ

[maggie]

Oh nice. We needed soup this week, too...but now that the fall sniffles are going around, too, in addition to all the crazy, we're going to need vegetable soup. I'll save this one. Thank you!

[Lisa-Marie]

This looks so good! We have been souping it up in my house for the past few weeks, its very satisfying knowing we have reserves of food!

Think this is next on the list, as I have almost all of the ingredients!

[Honeybee]

What a beautiful post! I work at the stock exchange and I need two things: yoga and good comfort food.

[Stephen G]

sounds like a cloud of comfort. my kind of good eats!

[nicole]

This *does* look perfectly perfect for the unsettled-ness going on right now ... and my stomach-ache! Definitely could use some comfort food these days.

[Susy]

MMMM, I have some kale growing in the garden right now. I'll be clipping this recipe to use in a few weeks when it finally gets cold here in Ohio.

O, and some delicious sourdough alongside - can't wait.

[Lisa]

Lovely. I've been in a soup mood too. think we could all use a bowl.

[Sylvie]

Soup is just one of the best things about autumn and winter, isn't it?!

[A Mouse Bouche]

I'm with you on the excitement about the temperature dropping (except today, of course!). I'm so happy my apartment is not too sweltering anymore to turn the stove on. can't wait to make some soup!

[Hilary]

Very good, and healthy!

[PetiteKitchen]

What a lovely soup. Soup is such a comfort food, and economical as well.

[ann]

I have walked around my office, gathered up everyone's Wall Street Journals and New York Times', trucked them up to my house, and used them to kill off some grass for next year's garden. I can't think of a better way to use the detritus of this god awful, never-ending crisis for good. That way, if four horsemen of the apocalypse do in fact begin roaming the canyons of the Financial District as one of my very reactionary co-workers is predicting, I'll be able to feed all the refugee copy editors that I work with on good, honest home-grown vegetables, and maybe some of this soup :-)

[BF]

this is such a nice post, and the soup is on my 'to-make' list now. you're right - we will get through this.

[Sues]

Ohhh man. The last thing I need is another soup recipe, but this is too good to resist! Thank you!!

[Teryll]

This sounds hearty and healthly. I'm looking forward to making it this week.

[Patty]

I made this when it first appeared in the LA Times and made it again last night. I'd forgotten how wonderfully satisfying it is. Don't neglect the toasted baguette in the bowl to soak up the broth.

[Tine]

Made this for my family and everyone loved it...even my 16-month old son! I've never had a good soup recipe using greens. This will stay in my recipe file. Thanks.

[Stephanie]

The winter greens/chickpea soup seems made for the winter! Lovely.

[Salena]

I made this a couple of days ago. I added homemade chicken broth, Korean red chili powder (my newest favorite ingredient) and the parmesan rind, like you suggested. It was delicious! Thanks for passing on the recipe.

[fussball]

Gute Arbeit hier! Gute Inhalte.