Passato di Ceci- Pureed Chickpea soup

Ingredients

• extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 pound pancetta cut into 1/2 inch dice
• 1 lrg onion, cut into 1/2 inch dice
• 2 celery ribs, cut into 1/2 inch dice
• 1 lrg or 2 sm carrots, cut into 1/2 inch dice
• 6 garlic cloves, smashed & divided
• 2 pinches crushed red pepper flakes
• kosher salt
• 1 pound chickpeas, soaked in water overnight
• 2 quarts chicken stock
• 1 bundle fresh thyme
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 quart water
• 3 sprigs rosemary, finely chopped
• 5-6 (1/2 inch) slice country style bread cut into cubes

Directions

• Coat a large pot with olive oil, add the pancetta & bring to medium heat. When pancetta starts to become crispy, add the onion, carrots, celery, 3cloves of garlic, pinch of crushed red pepper & season lightly with salt. Sweat the veg. for 6 - 7 minutes or til they become very aromatic & start to soften.
• Drain the water from the soaked chuickpeas, rinse & add to pot. Add the chicken stock, thyme bundle, bay leaves & 1 quart of water. Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to a simmer til the chickpeas are very soft & falling apart, about 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Turnoff heat, season the water with salt and let it sit for 15 -20 minutes.
• Fill a skillet with olive oil til it is about 1/2 inch deep & add the remaining 3 garlic cloves, the rosemary leaves & a pinch of crushed red pepper & bring it to a medium heat. Remove the garlic once it is golden . Add the bread cubes & cook til they start to become crispy & golden. Season with salt & remove the croutons from the oil to a bowl, reserving the rosemary oil.
• Add the infused oil to the soup. Puree in a food processor. Season to taste. If too thick, cook more to reduce or thin it by adding water.
• Serve with croutons & drizzle with infused oil.

My adaptations:
Our thyme plant was looking a little bleak, so I  chose to omit the fresh thyme bundle. I did not cook the bread cubes in the oil but added rosemary to soup mixture and drizzled olive oil on the finished soup. I also used more carrots. To puree I used my trustee imersion blender, and while I did miss a few chickpeas it was nice to have an occasional pea in the bowl. This soup is delicious and very filling!

Maybe next time I will add shrimp, like this person did:

Recipe Courtesy of Anne Burell-foodnetwork.com
picture courtesy of an Italian Food blog, as we were so hungry I forgot to snap a photo.