Name: Chickpea, Celery, and Porcini Soup with Pecorino Cheese
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: Italy
Ingredients: 2 cups dried chickpeas; 1½ cups curls of mild sheep’s milk cheese such as Sardinian pecorino, Cacto di Roma, or if unavailable, a Spanish manchego; 3 imported bay leaves; ¼ teaspoon baking soda; Pinch of sugar; Pinch of hot pepper flakes; Salt; freshly ground pepper; ⅛ teaspoon Italian or Greek orégano; ½ ounce dried porcini (about ½ cup); 2 garlic cloves; 2 cups thinly sliced tender celery ribs; ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for the table; 1 medium onion, peeled and grated in a food processor

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen

By Paula Wolfert

Published 2003

About

This fine recipe employs the same cooking method described in the preceding recipe, with the addition of orégano, celery, and porcini, an extra swirl of fresh fruity olive oil, and a few curls of pecorino cheese added just before serving. It was inspired by a soup served at the restaurant Oasis in the mountains of Irpinia in Campania. Members of the Fischetti family, who run the restaurant, are adamant about preserving the old culinary traditions of their region. In fact, the motto of the r