Tuscan Chickpea & Vegetable Soup

This tasty Tuscan Chickpea & Vegetable Soup is loaded with Swiss chard, chickpeas, carrots, celery, and ditalini pasta. Delicious, hearty, and very satisfying, this soup is made with a flavorful tomato broth.  An ideal soup to serve on a chilly weeknight. 

Tuscan Soups…

Tuscan chickpea and vegetable soup is an Italian soup made with fresh produce and chickpeas. It is similar to our classic minestrone, and our easy pasta fagioli, only this one is loaded with sweet Swiss chard and chickpeas.

Here’s a little secret! There’s one ingredient Italians always add to their soups, and it’s a rind of Parmigiano-Reggiano. It is added to give the dish the additional depth of flavor and richness it deserves.

What is Parmigino-Reggiano Rind?

It’s the hardened outer shell of the cheese, and it is completely edible. Once you’ve finished chunking and grating Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, save the rind!

It’s perfect to toss in a rind into a simmering minestrone or hearty sauce. It flavors the food as it cooks. Once it has softened, remove the leathery rind, and discard it, or you can cut it into tidbits, and add them back in to finish your dish.

How to Make Tuscan Chickpea & Vegetable Soup?

This soup is very simple to make. Once all the vegetables have been prepped and chopped, the rest is easy.

Ingredients Needed for our Tuscan Chickpea Soup:

• vegetables: onion, carrots, celery stalks, garlic, and Swiss chard
• herbs: dried rosemary and bay leaves
• extra virgin olive oil: to saute the vegetables
• can of plum tomatoes – mashed or pulsed
• chickpeas: one can of chickpeas (or garbanzo beans) is sufficient
• liquid: vegetable broth and water
• seasonings: Himalayan salt and some black pepper to taste
• one rind: Parmigiano-reggiano rind
• small pasta tubes: Ditalini pasta is perfect and only 1/2 cup is needed

Directions to Make this Soup: (*full recipe card below)

1. Finely chop onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and rosemary.
   Set a 3 or 4-quart soup pot over medium heat.  Add olive oil and the chopped veggies mixture.  Cook for about 5 minutes until vegetables are softened.

2. Place tomatoes and their juice into the food processor and chop coarsely.  Then pour 1 + 1/2 cups of it into the sautéed vegetables.  Add vegetable broth,  water, bay leaves, and salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

3. Open the can of chickpeas, rinse under running water, and drain.

4. Add in the chickpeas, and Parmesan rind. Simmer soup, covered for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the softened rind, and 2 bay leaves and discard. (Soup can be made ahead to this point.)

5. Toss in the chopped Swiss chard and cover again.  Simmer for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, until the chard wilts. 

6. Add the ditalini pasta to the simmering soup.  Simmer until the pasta is al-dente. Taste the soup and add additional salt and pepper if needed.  Next, ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle generously with freshly grated Parmigiano cheese. Serve immediately.

Quick Tips…

• Like most of our soups, this too can be made ahead and stored in a sealed container and kept in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days.
  • If you prefer, you can use VEGAN cheese instead of Parmigiano cheese.
  • For gluten-free, toss in GF small pasta in place of ditalini.
• It freezes beautifully too!
• It’s best to finely chop up the Swiss chard, rinse it well, and drain.

• Because this soup is considered to be a hearty meal. You can serve it as a starter or serve it alone with some crusty bread for dipping.

There’s nothing better than a bowl of health! So flavorful and satisfying, you’ll have to try our Tuscan Chickpea & Vegetable Soup recipe… and let us know!

ENJOY!!

Additional Italian Soup Recipes…

• Tuscan Swiss Chard and Beans Soup
• Creamy Broccoli Parmesan Soup
• Baby Lima Bean Soup
• Classic Italian Minestrone Soup
• Easy Pasta Fagioli Soup

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Thanks for stopping by…

Happy and Healthy Cooking! 🙂

xo anna and liz