I am a huge fan of trying to eat as much as possible in the “fresh, local and in season” way. Italians favor in season as well, although the ubiqitious tomato is found everywhere and at every time.  Indulging in out of season berries or other fruits and vegetables occasionally is a luxury to savor.  But the fruits and vegetable that have logged more frequent flyer miles than most travelers in a season aren’t at their peak in terms of flavor or nutrition.  So what to do in winter?  How about a thick stew style soup that uses all those seasonal vegetables, plus some of those “not so in season but how can you live without them” tomatoes?

INGREDIENTS

3 cups cooked or canned chickpeas

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

3 medium celery stalks, chopped

3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped

1 large red onion, peeled and chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 bunches Swiss chard, cleaned (at least 3 times)

1/2 head Napa or Savoy cabbage(sliced into strips)

1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley

2 fresh rosemary sprigs, (leave on stem)

2 cups canned tomatoes (I like Pomi) in most cases canned are better than fresh in winter

6 cups vegetable or chicken stock

1 baguette (day old is actually best for this)

salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

Over a low flame saute your celery, carrots, onions and garlic for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the tougher portions of the swiss chard to this mixture leaving the leafy portions to add later. Add your herbs and tomatoes and saute for another 15 minutes. Add your swiss chard, cabbage and half of your chickpeas with enough stock to cover all your ingredients and simmer for another 15-20 minutes. Puree the other half of your chickpeas with the rest of your soup stock and then add this and about 3/4 of your baguette to the mix.  Add salt and pepper to taste and pluck out the sprigs of rosemary.

The prep time and cook time combined on this soup are a good 1 1/2 hours but only need careful watching for the sauteing of the veggies (especially for the garlic) so this is a great rainy Sunday soup.  Two hints–1)add the bread slowly, you can always add a little more 2)a little winter squash can be a tasty addition when added at the same time as the tomatoes.