A soupy appetizer (you can make it a little drier if you like) and a good one, a terrific example of making something delicious out of a few scraps. You must cook dried chickpeas yourself for this one; canned chickpeas will not cut it. Likewise, you must make homemade bread crumbs. Do these two things and you will love this dish

　　

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

　　One hunk French or Italian bread a day or two old, about 6 inches long

　　1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

　　Salt and black pepper to taste

　　1/2 cup chopped dried chorizo, optional

　　3 cups cooked chickpeas (preceding recipe), with about 2 cups of their cooking liquid (5 cups total)

　　1 tablespoon minced garlic

　　Chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish

　　

Step 1

Roughly chop the bread and put it in a food processor; pulse until it is shredded, with no chunks larger than a pea, but most not much smaller either. Put all but 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the bread and a sprinkling of salt and cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until the crumbs are nicely browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the bread crumbs from the skillet (drain them on paper towels if you wish; I do not) and, if you’re adding the chorizo, brown it lightly in the skillet.

　　

Step 2

Warm the chickpeas in their broth with the garlic and salt and pepper. Divide the soup among 4 bowls, then top with the bread crumbs and, if you’re using it, the chorizo. Garnish with parsley, drizzle with the remaining olive oil, and serve.

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.