Chickpea, wild arugula, tomato, and fresh herb soup.

The narrow-leaved wild arugula is usually a perennial here in Houston. It is one of my favorite plants and a little spicier than regular arugula. It has done really well all summer (drought?) so I have a lot to enjoy.

Here is a great way to use it:

Ingredients:

From the garden- ~20 fresh sage leaves
~ 2 TBLS or more fresh rosemary
~10 or more bay leaves
~2 cups or more wild arugula

From the store- one generous cup dry chickpeas (NOT canned),
1 small onion
~12-20 black peppercorns
~2-4 TBLS olive oil
2-4 Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese rinds, and some of the grated cheese for serving
1 large can of whole tomatoes
red pepper flakes
salt
Brown jasmine rice to serve with the soup.

Dry chickpeas make the most incredibly delicious broth even when simmered with very few ingredients, a great base for many types of soups. Canned chickpeas will not work in this recipe.

Put dry chickpeas, small-medium onion quartered, peppercorns, bay leaves and water to cover the chickpeas a few inches in a covered pot.
Bring to a boil for a couple minutes, then let sit ~ one hour covered.
Bring to boil again and simmer till tender ( add a little salt and the olive oil once they start to soften). Add more water as needed to keep them covered.You can interrupt their cooking at any time and resume later. It may take one and a half to two hours to cook. They should not be mushy.

When they are done, add the can of tomatoes, sage, rosemary, red pepper flakes (for just a little spice), PR cheese rinds, salt and a little more water if desired. You may want to transfer to a large soup pot.
Simmer 15-20min.
Add arugula, simmer another 5 min.

Serve with a little brown jasmine rice and PR cheese.

This soup really delicious, gets better with age, and can be extended over the week with more arugula, tomatoes and fresh herbs.
Enjoy!