Ottolenghi Instagram-Inspired Butter Braised Chickpea & Parmesan Soup for Souper (Soup, Salad, & Sammie) Sundays

Do you ever have recipe obsessions? I get them often especially when I see a post on a favorite chef's Instagram. When Yotam Ottolenghi posted a picture of Butter Braised Chickpeas on his account back in October, I waited for it to move from the testing kitchen to one of his newspaper columns but it was taking too long, and maybe it was for an upcoming cookbook, and who knows when it would be published, so I decided that there was enough of a description for me to just cook it--adding a little extra broth to make it more of a soup for Souper Sundays.

So the below recipe is my interpretation of the recipe from what was posted on Instagram but the mix of ingredients and basic processes are all Ottolenghi and his team.

Butter Braised Chickpea & Parmesan Soup
Inspired and Adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi and Noor Murad via Instagram, Interpreted here by Deb, Kahakai Kitchen
(Serves 6)

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 sweet onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, sliced
3 small bay leaves
1 package dried chickpeas (about 4 cups)
6 cups liquid (4 cups lite veggie broth + 4 cups water)
3-4 Parmesan-Reggiano rinds
3/4 stick of butter, chopped 
juice & zest of one lemon, or to taste + one lemon to grill
salt and black pepper to taste
grilled spring onion, grated Parmesan, & grilled lemon slices to serve

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and saute about 10 minutes, until softened and just starting to brown. Add the garlic and saute another 2 to 3 minutes. Add the bay leaves, broth and water and Parmesan-Reggiano rinds and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer about 1 1/2 - 2 hours, until chickpeas are soft. 

Place the rinds and a couple of ladles full of chickpeas and broth into a blender and blitz until smooth. Pour back in the pot, along with the butter and lemon zest and bring to a simmer. Taste and season with salt and black pepper. Cover again and cook on low for another 30 to 40 minutes or until chickpeas are very soft. Add lemon juice and season with more salt and black pepper if needed.

Serve ladled in bowls with grilled spring onions, grated Parmesan cheese and more black pepper to taste. (Whether eating as a soup or not, bread would be very welcome at the bottom of the bowl or on the side.) Enjoy!

Notes/Results: So comforting and indulgent and really, really delicious. I can't wait to see the actual recipe to see what quantities of things Ottolenghi and Murad used and how close or not I was. Regardless, I am pretty happy with how it turned out--the nuttiness and slight funkiness of the Parmesan-Reggiano, creamy chickpeas, acidity from the lemons and rich butter all work together for layers of flavor. My only regret was not having any good sourdough bread to dip into the broth. I will happily make it again.

Linking up with I Heart Cooking Clubs where the theme is Good Tidings of Comfort & Joy where we make comfort food from any of our nineteen featured chefs. 

It's just me in the Souper Sundays kitchen this busy pre-holiday week with the Simple Greek Salad with Roasted Shrimp I made earlier in the week. I kept it simple with wild shrimp from the freezer and tomatoes, cucumber, onion, freeze-dried dill, capers, lemon, and yogurt that I had in the fridge. It was light but satisfying and delicious with the sweet roasted shrimp on top. 

(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here.
If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's Souper Sunday's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

• Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you. Also please see below for what to do on your blog post that you link up to Souper Sundays in order to be included in the weekly round-up.

and 

On your entry post (on your blog):

• Mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and add a link back to this post. (Not to be a pain but it's polite and only fair to link back to events you link up at--so if you link a post up here without linking back to this post or my blog on your post, it will be removed.)
• You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (completely optional).

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Have a happy, healthy week!