Tuscan Chickpea Soup

• 3 cups dried garbanzo beans or (15 ounce) cans chickpeas
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 8 cloves garlic (pressed or minced)
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 2 cups water or 2 cups additional vegetable stock
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary or 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper (freshly ground is always better)
• 1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes (undrained)
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/2 ounces grated fresh parmesan cheese (6 tbs)

1. Soak dried garbanzo beans in water to cover overnight.
2. Rinse and inspect the beans and set aside.
3. In a skillet heat the olive oil over medium heat, add the garlic and onion and cook of 10 minutes stirring frequently.
4. Put the onion mixture, garbanzo beans, and next 5 ingredients in your crockpot.
5. Simmer in the crockpot for 2 to 4 hours.
6. (I will start this on low in the morning, and turn up the heat when I come home for lunch).
7. To make the soup thicker, blend 4 cups of the soup in a blender, 1 cup at a time (very carefully, this is hot soup!) then place all 4 cups back into the soup.
8. Stir in the balsamic vinegar and let the soup simmer another 15 minutes.
9. (this is the perfect time to throw together a salad).
10. Place the soup in bowls (1 1/2 cups for 6 servings) and sprinkle with parmesan (1 tbs).

garbanzo beans, olive oil, onions, garlic, vegetable stock, water, fresh rosemary, pepper, tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, parmesan cheese

Taken from www.food.com/recipe/tuscan-chickpea-soup-103770 (may not work)