Ingredients:

2 cans chickpeas, drained (or you can cook your own)

6 Oz pappardelle pasta, roughly broken (see Tips)

3 TBSPs extra virgin olive oil

1 small carrot (not a baby one)

1/2 stalk celery (tender stalk from inner part)

2 large cloves garlic

1 sprig fresh rosemary

3 large sage leaves

1 sprig fresh oregano, or 1/2 tsp dried

1 qt vegetable (or chicken) broth

Salt and pepper to taste

Grated cheese to taste

Optional: small diced pancetta or prosciutto

Directions:

Clean and cut carrot and celery into chunks.

Strip rosemary leaves from sprig.

Place carrot, celery and garlic into a food processor.

Chop until a paste is formed.

Wrap rosemary, sage and oregano with some cheese cloth (or use a tea infuser) and tie the bundle. Set aside.

Pour olive oil into soup pot (or Dutch oven) over medium heat.

When oil is warm, add the veggie paste.

*If using pancetta/prosciutto, add before veggie paste and allow to crisp. Then add veggie paste.

Sauté for about 5 minutes until wilted.

Meanwhile, place the contents of 1 of the 2 cans of chickpeas in the food processor and blend until mashed.

Add mashed chickpeas, whole chickpeas and broth to the pot.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Also add the herb bundle.

Stir well and reduce heat to low.

Cover pot and simmer for about 10 minutes to allow the flavors to blend together.

Add pappardelle pieces to the soup and stir.

Cover pot and simmer on low heat, stirring often to keep pasta from sticking.

If soup gets too dry, add some water.

When pasta is al dente, remove from heat.

Remove herb bundle.

Add a generous sprinkle of grated cheese, stir and allow to sit a couple minutes before serving.

Serve hot with additional sprinkle of grated cheese and pepper.

TIPS:

The old timers used any leftover pasta for soups, most often a mix of all shapes and sizes if they were not able to make their own homemade pasta bits. I like to use either pappardelle or fettuccine pasta that I break into pieces by hand. Don’t make pieces too small or too big! They should be about an inch big each. If you don’t care to do that, just use either ditalini or small shell pasta.

You can make this soup vegetarian/vegan by using only vegetable broth and omitting diced pancetta or prosciutto. If you don’t have dietary restrictions, I highly recommend using pancetta/prosciutto for added flavor.

In addition to a sprinkle of grated cheese and pepper when serving, you can drizzle a little olive oil over the top and decorate with fresh herbs.