Toskanische Kichererbsen- und Schwarzkohlsuppe mit Knoblauchtoast

La storia di questo piatto

Diese Suppe trägt keinen überlieferten Namen; sie ist eine moderne Variante, die sich an der toskanischen Bauernküche von Ribollita und Zuppa incavolata orientiert, wo Kohl und Hülsenfrüchte seit jeher den Tisch der einfachen Leute deckten. Man erzählt sie als Interpretation, nicht als alte Tradition.

Ingredienti

• 300 g Dried chickpeas
• 1200 ml Water for soaking
• 12 g Coarse salt (for soaking)
• 1400 ml Water for cooking the chickpeas
• 1 sprig Rosemary (sprig)
• 300 g Black kale
• 5 clove Garlic
• 100 ml Extra virgin olive oil
• 0.75 teaspoon Red pepper flakes
• 6 g Fine salt
• 160 g Stale Tuscan bread
• 0.5 piece Lemon (optional)

Preparazione

1. Start with the soak: this patience is what makes the chickpeas creamy. Place the 300 g of chickpeas in a large bowl with 1200 ml of water and 12 g of coarse salt, and let them rest for 12 hours, for example from evening to morning. The salt softens the skin and seasons the heart of the chickpea right away. They are ready when they have doubled in volume and their skins are smooth, without wrinkles.
2. Drain the chickpeas and place them in a tall pot with 1400 ml of fresh water, 2 garlic cloves lightly crushed in their skins, the rosemary sprig and 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of extra virgin olive oil: the oil helps keep the foam down. Bring to a boil over medium heat, skim off the foam with a ladle, then lower the flame to minimum, with the water barely simmering, and cook for about 75 minutes. At mid-cooking, after about 40 minutes, add only 1 g of fine salt (a pinch): the chickpeas have already absorbed salt during the soak, so a light touch is enough. After about 45 minutes of cooking, when the chickpeas have about 30 minutes left, move on to step 3, leaving the pot on the heat: steps 3 and 4 happen while the chickpeas finish cooking. The chickpeas are done when, pressing one between two fingers, it gives way effortlessly and the skin stays intact. Remove the rosemary and garlic, and keep all the cooking water: it is liquid gold for the soup.
3. This step takes place while the chickpeas are still simmering, when about 30 minutes of cooking remain. Clean the black kale: hold the stem with one hand and with the other strip off the leaf, setting aside the hard central rib. Cut the leaves into wide strips about 3 cm wide and rinse them well under cold water, since they always hide some grit in their folds. Don't dry them too much: the water left on the leaves will help them braise.
4. This step also happens while the chickpeas finish cooking (in the last 20 minutes or so). In a wide saucepan pour 30 ml (2 tablespoons) of extra virgin olive oil, add 2 garlic cloves thinly sliced and 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Turn the heat to low and let it sizzle gently for 2–3 minutes, until the garlic is fragrant and just golden: if it darkens it turns bitter, so remove the pan from the heat if it colours too quickly. Add the black kale and a ladleful (about 100 ml) of the chickpea cooking water. Before salting, taste that water: it is already somewhat savoury. Then add 2 g of fine salt (about 1/3 teaspoon), cover and braise over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally with the spoon. The kale is ready when it turns very dark, glossy and tender between the teeth. Right now, while the kale braises, preheat the oven to 200°C for the croutons in step 6: the chickpeas finish cooking in the same minutes.
5. With a slotted spoon transfer the chickpeas into the pan with the kale. Take a ladleful of chickpeas, mash them with a fork in a bowl and return them to the pot: they will act as a natural cream, with no cream or flour. Pour in 600 ml of their cooking water (set the rest aside), taste and adjust with 2 g of fine salt (about 1/3 teaspoon), then let it simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. During these 10 minutes prepare the croutons (step 6). The soup is ready when it coats the back of a spoon: thick, but still eaten with a spoon. If it thickens too much, loosen it with a ladleful of the leftover cooking water.
6. This step runs in parallel with step 5, during the 10 minutes the soup simmers: prepare the croutons, the crunchy contrast this dish calls for. With the oven already at 200°C, cut the bread into 4 thick slices, brush them with 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of extra virgin olive oil and toast for about 8 minutes, turning them halfway. They should be golden and sound hollow when tapped with the knuckles. As soon as they come out of the oven, rub the cut side of the fifth and last garlic clove, whole, over each one: the heat releases its fragrance and the crust acts as a grater.
7. The final touch brings everything together. Off the heat, if you like, squeeze half a lemon and stir the juice into the soup a teaspoon at a time: the acidity brightens the chickpeas and softens the bitterness of the kale (this is a modern touch, not traditional: you may use just a few drops or omit it). Taste and adjust the salt with no more than 1 g of fine salt (about 1/4 teaspoon, a generous pinch). Place a crouton at the bottom of each deep bowl, ladle the boiling soup over it, and finish with 10 ml of raw extra virgin olive oil per bowl (40 ml in total for 4 bowls) and a pinch of red pepper flakes (about 1/4 teaspoon in total) if you like. Serve immediately, so the crouton begins to soften while remaining crisp in the centre.