Chickpea soup with basil meatballs
Ingredients
- 250g pork mince
- 250g veal mince
- 1 rasher bacon, finely chopped
- 80g (1 cup) Parmesan, finely grated
- 30ml (2 tbsp) fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
- 10ml (2 tsp) lemon rind, finely grated
- 1 large egg
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 30ml (2 tbsp) olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 315g (1½ cups) dried chickpeas, soaked
- 15ml (1 tbsp) tomato paste
- 500ml (2 cups) water
- 1 litre chicken stock
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- fresh basil leaves, torn, to serve
Instructions
To make the basil and lemon meatballs, place the pork and veal mince, bacon, Parmesan, basil, lemon, egg, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix well to combine. Roll 2 teaspoonfuls at a time into balls and place on a baking tray. Cover and refrigerate.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened, for about 5 minutes. Add the chickpeas, tomato paste, water and stock, bring to the boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until the chickpeas are tender, about 1 hour 30 minutes.
Place half the chickpea mixture in a food processor and pulse in short bursts until smooth. Return to the pan and add the meatballs. Cover and cook until the meatballs are cooked through, about 15 minutes. Stir through salt, pepper and basil to serve.
