Chickpea Soup with Garlic, Sage and Tarragon

Okay--so I didn't peel the chickpeas...otherwise, I did as I was told. sort of. So far in cooking form this book, with every recipe containing olive oil, I use much less. And I made my chickpeas in my crock pot. When I finished making the soup, I used the immersion blender to puree the soup, skins and all. I also used, per her suggestion, other fresh herbs as I had no fresh tarragon. At first taste, I was unimpressed with this soup. Then, because plans changed, I packed the soup into a couple of containers and froze it. The other day I defrosted the soup and reheated it and what a happy surprise! It was delicious, much more flavorful and complex than one would think, given the simplicity of the ingredients and preparation. And the texture was lovely. I look forward to trying it garnished with fresh tarragon (if spring ever comes...)

I used a pound of chickpeas and was glad not to have made the full recipe. I did peel the chickpeas and think that I should have cooked them longer initially as the skins were not loosened at all. I was delighted to learned how to remove the skins with the aid of baking soda. I aso whisked the peeled peas as they cooked, not waiting until the end of the cooking period. I liked the thickened but chunky texture. It is a some what plain soup and went well with the City bread to make a complete meal.