Chickpea Soup With Swiss Chard

• 6 cups drained and rinsed canned chickpeas (three 19-ounce cans)
• 3 cups canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock, more if needed
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 rib celery, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 bay leaf
• Pinch dried red-pepper flakes
• 1 cup canned tomatoes in thick puree, chopped
• 1/2 cup tubetti or other small macaroni
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 pound Swiss chard, tough stems removed, leaves cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper

1. Puree half of the chickpeas with 1 1/2 cups of the broth in a blender or food processor. In a large pot, heat the oil over moderately low heat. Add the carrot, onion, celery, garlic, and rosemary and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables start to soften, about 5 minutes.
2. Stir in the remaining 1 1/2 cups broth, the pureed chickpeas, whole chickpeas, bay leaf, red-pepper flakes, tomatoes, tubetti, and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes.
3. Add the Swiss chard to the pot. Simmer until the chard is tender and the pasta is done, 5 to 10 minutes longer. Remove the bay leaf. Stir in the black pepper. If the soup thickens too much on standing, stir in more broth or water.
4. Wine Recommendation: Since a red wine would accent the Swiss chard's bitterness, try a full-bodied tocai friulano. Its nutty flavor will mirror that of the chickpeas.

chickpeas, chicken broth, olive oil, carrot, onion, celery, garlic, rosemary, bay leaf, redpepper, tomatoes, macaroni, salt, swiss chard, freshground black pepper

Taken from www.myrecipes.com/recipe/chickpea-soup-with-swiss-chard (may not work)