Etruscan Chestnut and Chickpea Soup

by Amber Guinness, featured in Winter In Tuscany

Published by Thames and Hudson

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Introduction

My friend Niccolò introduced me to this dish. It’s his favourite soup, and he loves it so much he buys jars of it from his old neighbouring farm in Chianti and eats it straight from the jar. I love how this dish brings together two quintessentially Tuscan ingredients, chestnuts and chickpeas, both of which have been grown around us at Arniano for thousands of years since the time of the ancient Etruscans. Traditional recipes call for soaking dried chickpeas and roasting the chestnuts, but for ease, I use ready-cooked chestnuts and tinned chickpeas, though of course you can soak and cook the chickpeas. If you do, retain the soaking water for the soup and substitute it for half the stock.

If you would like the dish to be even more substantial, add a couple of handfuls of pasta, such as filini, ditalini, broken-up spaghetti or, if you can get it, gramigna – small curled pasta tubes that are traditional in this soup but hard to find.

For US measures and ingredient names, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.

As featured in

Winter In Tuscany

Image of Amber Guinness' Etruscan Chestnut and Chickpea Soup — Photo by Valentina Solfrini

Ingredients

Serves: 4

Metric U.S.

2 x 400 grams tins or jars of giant chickpeas
2 x 180 - 200 grams packets whole cooked chestnuts
olive oil
1 red onion (finely diced)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove (crushed)
3 rosemary sprigs (leaves picked and finely chopped)
500 millilitres chicken stock or vegetable stock
2 handfuls of pasta (optional)

TO SERVE

olive oil
grated Parmesan
good crusty bread

2 x 14 ounces tins or jars of giant garbanzo beans
2 x 6½ - 7 ounces packets whole cooked chestnuts
olive oil
1 red onion (finely diced)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove (crushed)
3 rosemary sprigs (leaves picked and finely chopped)
17 fluid ounces chicken broth or vegetable stock
2 handfuls of pasta (optional)

TO SERVE

olive oil
grated Parmesan
good crusty bread

Method

Etruscan Chestnut and Chickpea Soup is a guest recipe by Amber Guinness so we are not able to answer questions regarding this recipe

Drain the chickpeas, reserving their soaking liquid. Very finely chop half the chestnuts. Split each of the remaining chestnuts in half and set aside.
In a heavy-based saucepan, heat a couple of glugs of olive oil with the onion and a pinch of salt. Cook for a few minutes, until the onion begins to look translucent. Add the garlic, rosemary and the finely chopped chestnuts and cook for another 2–3 minutes.
Stir in half the chickpeas, some salt, pepper and another glug of olive oil and cook for 5 minutes. Pour in the stock and the reserved chickpea liquid. Stir and leave to cook for 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Leave to cool a little, then transfer the soup to a blender and blitz until smooth. Return to the pan with another drizzle of olive oil, then taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary.
Stir in the chunky chestnut halves and the remaining chickpeas. (The soup freezes well at this stage, if making ahead, and will keep in the fridge ready to be reheated for up to 3 days.)
If using the pasta, add it to the soup with half a glass of water. Cook over a medium heat, stirring often, for about 5 minutes, until your pasta is well cooked.
Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, some grated parmesan and crusty bread.

Drain the garbanzo beans, reserving their soaking liquid. Very finely chop half the chestnuts. Split each of the remaining chestnuts in half and set aside.
In a heavy-based saucepan, heat a couple of glugs of olive oil with the onion and a pinch of salt. Cook for a few minutes, until the onion begins to look translucent. Add the garlic, rosemary and the finely chopped chestnuts and cook for another 2–3 minutes.
Stir in half the garbanzo beans, some salt, pepper and another glug of olive oil and cook for 5 minutes. Pour in the stock and the reserved chickpea liquid. Stir and leave to cook for 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Leave to cool a little, then transfer the soup to a blender and blitz until smooth. Return to the pan with another drizzle of olive oil, then taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary.
Stir in the chunky chestnut halves and the remaining garbanzo beans. (The soup freezes well at this stage, if making ahead, and will keep in the fridge ready to be reheated for up to 3 days.)
If using the pasta, add it to the soup with half a glass of water. Cook over a medium heat, stirring often, for about 5 minutes, until your pasta is well cooked.
Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, some grated parmesan and crusty bread.