Purée of Garbanzo Bean Soup, Paprika Oil, Seared Foie Gras

I love chickpeas—particularly when made from dried, nutty, Spanish beans—and this soup really allows the legume to shine. When puréed, the soup is so creamy from the chickpeas you don't even need to add dairy. This recipe garnishes the soup with smoked paprika oil, whose smokey redness is a great pairing both to the eye and the mouth, and foie gras. The foie gras' flavors marry surprisingly well, but you can substitute it with some crispy pancetta, as shown in these photos.

Purée of Garbanzo Bean Soup, Paprika Oil, Seared Foie Gras

Makes 6 servings.

Ingredients:

3 cups dried garbanzo beans (chickpeas), soaked overnight, rinsed, and drained
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 pound smoked bacon, cut into chunks
4 cloves smashed plus 2 cloves chopped garlic
about 6 cups low or no salt chicken stock
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 Spanish yellow onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
1 leek, white part only, sliced
1 habanero chile, chopped
2 tablespoons smoked paprika oil (recipe)
6 ounces foie gras, Grade A or B
2 tablespoons Italian parsley, chopped
sea salt, to taste
freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

Place the dried garbanzo beans, lemon juice, smoked bacon, and garlic cloves in a medium stockpot. Cover by about 3 inches with low or (preferably) no salt chicken stock. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat to a simmer. Cook, stirring and skimming occasionally, until the beans are tender but not falling apart, about 90 minutes. Discard the bacon and garlic cloves.

Heat a dutch oven or heavy stockpot over medium heat. Add the olive oil. Once hot, add the Spanish onion and carrot. Saute, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the celery, leek, and habanero chile. Season with sea salt and black pepper to taste. Saute until the onion and carrot are soft but nothing is brown, about 3 more minutes.

Add the cooked garbanzo beans and their liquid to the stockpot. You should have around 3 cups of liquid in the pot; add more chicken stock if needed. Raise heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are all integrated, about 20 minutes.

Puréeing the soup with an immersion blender

Remove from heat. Using an immersion blender, purée the soup until very smooth. Stir. The soup should be thick—a purée—but not as thick as hummus. Add more chicken stock if needed. Taste and adjust salt. Return to a simmer and cook until heated through and integrated, about 2 minutes.

Using a knife dipped in boiling water, cut the foie gras into 1/2-inch slices. Season the foie gras slices on both sides with sea salt and black pepper. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the foie gras slices. Cook for 45 seconds. Turn the slices over and cook for 30 more seconds. Reserve to paper towels. Cut into strips an inch long.

Plated, garnished, and ready to serve

To plate, ladle the purée into warm shallow soup bowls. Garnish with the smoked paprika oil, seared foie gras, and parsley.