Clam and Chickpea Soup

Name: Clam and Chickpea Soup (Zuppa di Ceci e Arselle)
Yield: Serves 6 as a first course
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 2 sprigs rosemary, leaves picked and very finely chopped; crusty bread, for serving; finely grated zest of 1 lemon; salt flakes, to taste; 1 small red chilli, finely sliced; 4 roma (plum) tomatoes, peeled, tops cut off, seeded and chopped; 1 kg vongole (clams), purged; ½ leek, washed well and cut into fine strips; 4 cloves garlic, finely sliced; 1 tablespoon finely sliced flat-leaf parsley leaves; 300 g dried chickpeas, soaked in water overnight; 100 g desiree potato (1 small), peeled and halved; ⅓ cup (80 ml) extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

Zuppa di Ceci e Arselle

Preparation info

Serves
6
as a first course

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

A Sardinian Cookbook

By Giovanni Pilu and Roberta Muir

Published 2012

About

In Sardinia this dish would be made with very small clams called arselle, which are harvested from along the water’s edge. The closest we get to these in Australia are vongole; they’re generally a bit larger, so buy the smallest ones you can find. You’ll need to start this recipe a day ahead to give the chickpeas time to soak.

Ingredients

300 g dried chickpeas, soaked in water overnight
100 g desiree potato (1 small), peeled and

Method

Place chickpeas and their soaking water in a saucepan and add potato. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 45–60 minutes, until chickpeas are tender, skimming regularly to remove any froth that rises to the surface. Drain, reserving cooking water.

Heat a large frying pan over high heat until very hot, add half the oil, then the vongole, cover, shake pan well and cook for a minu