Chickpea purée with shrimp

Method

1. Put the chickpeas in a large pot, cover with about an inch of water, mix in 3 tbsp of salt, and soak for at least 12 hours.

2. Drain the chickpeas, rinse them, and put them in a three-quart pot. Cover with water by about three inches, then add the garlic and rosemary. Over low heat, bring the water to a boil and simmer at least one hour, until the chickpeas are tender. Add half a cup of boiling water if the liquid gets too low.

3. Purée the chickpeas with your method of choice. You can rub through a sieve, but the fine disk of a food mill works well too. Puréeing with a processor or an immersion mixer grinds up all the skins and produces a less refined soup.

4. Thin the soup to desired consistency (a little thicker than heavy cream is ideal) with some of the chickpea broth; add boiling water if there’s not enough broth. Season with salt and pepper, and serve warm.

5. Remove the shells and black veins from the shrimp. Put them in a steamer basket over half a cup of boiling water in a pot, cover and steam for 2-3 minutes, until they turn pink.

6. Put one-fourth of the chickpea purée in each soup bowl, top each with 4 or 5 shrimp, then add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and  pepper.
   This recipe is from Adventures of an Italian Food Lover by Faith Heller Willinger, published by Clarkson Potter