Chickpea and Fennel Soup with Rosemary and Lemon
Chickpeas and fennel are a natural pair around the Mediterranean, the sweet anise of the bulb cutting the earthiness of the beans, and this soup leans on both with rosemary and a good deal of lemon. It sits between the plain chickpea soups of Greece and the bean-and-herb pots of southern Italy, brothy rather than thick, though a handful of mashed chickpeas gives it enough body to feel like a meal. Cooking the fennel slowly at the start is the step that matters, since fennel rushed over high heat stays sharp while fennel coaxed in a little water turns sweet and mellow. Keep the rosemary in one sprig so you can remove the stem, thicken the pot with some of its own beans rather than any dairy, and do not skip the lemon at the end, which lifts everything and covers for the salt the soup never gets. Save the feathery fronds to scatter on top. Serve it with whole-grain bread.
Ingredients
- 3 cups Chickpeas, cooked, liquid reserved
- 1 large Fennel bulb, diced, fronds reserved
- 1 medium Yellow onions, chopped
- 3 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 sprig Rosemary
- 1 pinch Red pepper flakes
- 3/4 cup Canned crushed tomatoes
- 1 leaf Bay leaves
- 2 tbsp Lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp Black peppercorns, ground
Method
- Sweat the diced fennel and onion in a pot with 1/4 cup water (60 ml), covered, over medium-low heat until soft and sweet, about 10 minutes. Fennel's raw anise bite mellows into sweetness only with slow cooking, and this is the flavor base that stands in for a start in oil.
- Add the garlic, the whole rosemary sprig, and the chile flakes, and cook a minute until fragrant. A single sprig left whole lets you pull the woody stem out later, since rosemary turns sharp if it is chopped in and left.
- Stir in the tomato, the bay, the chickpeas, and 3 cups water (720 ml) or the reserved bean liquid. Simmer gently for 15 minutes so the chickpeas take on the fennel and rosemary.
- Scoop out about a cup of the chickpeas, mash them, and stir them back in, or blend a ladleful and return it. The mashed beans thicken the broth to a velvety body, doing the job cream or a flour roux would in a richer soup.
- Pull the rosemary stem and bay, then finish with the lemon juice, black pepper, and the chopped fennel fronds. The lemon brightens the whole pot and reads as seasoning in place of salt, and the fronds add a last note of fresh anise.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 210 calories, 9 g protein, 8 g fiber, 90 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
