Soup With Chickpeas And Smoked Pork Food

SPANISH PORK WITH CHICKPEAS

Steps:

• Preheat the broiler. Toss the spring onions with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt on a baking sheet; season with pepper. Broil, turning, until charred, 8 to 10 minutes (5 minutes for scallions).
• Meanwhile, combine the cumin, paprika and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper in a bowl. Make a deep cut lengthwise down the center of the pork, cutting about halfway through. Open the pork like a book; cut crosswise into 4 pieces and season with the spice mixture.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook until browned on the bottom, 5 minutes; transfer to a plate. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and the garlic to the pot. Cook, stirring, until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4 minutes. Stir in the reserved tomato juices, chickpeas and roasted peppers. Add the pork browned-side up; cover and simmer until cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Remove the pork from the pot. Stir the almond butter, vinegar and oregano into the chickpea mixture. Serve with the pork and charred spring onions.

SOUP WITH CHICKPEAS AND SMOKED PORK

Steps:

• Rinse the chickpeas and put them in the soup pot with enough cold water to cover them by at least 4 inches. Let them soak for 12 to 24 hours in a cool place.
• Drain and rinse the chickpeas; put them in the soup pot with 8 quarts of fresh cold water, the bay leaves, and potatoes. Over high heat, bring the water to a boil, stirring often, and then keep it gently bubbling.
• Meanwhile, prepare the pestata, the paste that is the seasoning base. Put about half of the onion, celery, and carrot chunks and half the garlic cloves in the food processor. Process into a finely minced paste, scraping down the bowl a few times. Empty the paste into a mixing bowl, process the remaining vegetables the same way, and mix the pestata batches together. (If your food processor is small, make the pestata in three batches.)
• Pour the olive oil into the big skillet, and set over medium-high heat. Stir in all of the pestata-now it becomes a soffritto-and cook until the moisture has largely evaporated, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Pour in the crushed tomatoes, stir well, bring to a boil, and cook for a few minutes, until slightly reduced.
• Scrape the soffritto into the pot of beans and potatoes, and stir to disperse it completely. Cover the pot partially, and bring the broth to a gentle bubbling boil. When the chickpeas have been cooking for about 1 hour total, stir in the 2 tablespoons salt and drop in the slab of pork ribs. Bring to a gentle boil, and cook for another 1/2 hour, partially covered, allowing the volume to reduce slowly and steadily.
• After cooking for 1 1/2 hours, by which time the beans should be nearly tender, drop in the smoked sausage and bring the soup to the boil again. Cook uncovered until the beans are completely soft and the soup has a nice density, 30 minutes or longer, then turn off the heat.
• Remove the meats to a platter. To create a thickening, scoop out half of the chickpeas (about 3 cups) and as many chunks of potato as you can find, and drop them in the food-processor bowl. Add a cup or two of broth, process to a thick purée, and scrape it back into the soup. Stir well, and simmer for 5 minutes or longer if the soup needs more reduction. Season to taste with freshly ground black pepper and salt if needed.
• Serve the soup first-with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of grated cheese over each portion-then the sliced meats as a second course. Or put a rib and a few slices of sausage in every soup bowl, and enjoy them together.

SMOKED PORK, WHITE BEAN AND VEGETABLE SOUP

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a heavy soup pot and add bacon until it's crisp, not burned. Remove bacon with slotted spoon and set aside.
• Add onion, carrot and celery to pot and cook over medium heat to soften, not brown about 5 minutes or more. Add garlic, rosemary, thyme, ground pepper and stir for about a minute until garlic is fragrant.
• Add potato, cabbage, beans and pork, stir and cook for a minute or two and then add water -I add a lot but if you want it to be more stewy than soupy, don't add as much.
• Turn heat to high and bring to boil, turn down to low and simmer for 15 minutes or until your vegetables are cooked. Take off heat and add salt 1/4 teaspoon at a time, stirring after adding and tasting until it's seasoned.