Chickpea and Chard Soup

This recipe was adapted from The Tassajara Recipe Book by Edward Espe Brown.

Ingredients:

2 cups dried garbanzo beans
1 medium onion, diced
1 1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
3-4 large cloves of garlic, finely minced
3 large Anaheim peppers toasted, seeded and chopped
4 large, ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sherry
8 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1-2 lb swiss chard, stems removed, chopped
1 cup cooked brown rice

Method:

Put garbanzo beans in a large pot. Sort and rinse. Add enough water to cover the beans by an inch.

Bring the water and beans to a boil. Stir. Turn off heat and cover. Let the beans sit for an hour.

Heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet and cook the onion and thyme over medium heat until the onion is soft.

Add the garlic, chopped pepper, tomatoes, bay leaf, salt and sherry to the skillet and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add the stock to the pre-cooked garbanzo beans and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and add the contents of the skillet to the beans.

Simmer beans, stock and vegetables for at least three hours, adding water if needed to keep the beans just covered with liquid.

Add the chopped chard and the cooked rice to the simmering beans and add salt and pepper to your taste. Cover and cook for 5 min.