Zuppa di Cozze e Ceci

A smooth, velvety soup of garbanzo beans, sweet fennel and garlic. The mussels do double
duty: their cooking liquor seasons the soup, and the plump meat goes in at the very end. A
ring of chili oil with toasted cumin and fennel seeds finishes each bowl.
Serves 4
Prep 20 minutes
Cook about 45 minutes

Ingredients For the mussels
2 lb (900 g) live mussels, scrubbed and debearded
½ cup (120 ml) dry white wine
1 garlic clove, crushed

For the soup
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 large fennel bulb, trimmed and chopped, fronds reserved
4 garlic cloves, sliced
1 tsp fennel seeds, lightly toasted and crushed
Two 15-oz (425 g) cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed, or 3 cups (500 g) homecooked
4 cups (950 ml) white chicken stock, vegetable stock or water
1 to 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
Salt and black pepper

For the toasted cumin, fennel and chili oil
2 tsp cumin seeds and 1 tsp fennel seeds
⅓ cup (80 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
½ tsp chili flakes

Method
Make the spiced oil first - Toast the cumin and fennel seeds in a dry pan for 1 minute
until fragrant, crush coarsely, then warm gently in the olive oil with the chili for 3 minutes
without frying. Leave to steep.

Steam the mussels - Discard any with broken shells, and any open ones that do not close
when tapped. Cover and cook the mussels with the wine and garlic over high heat for 4 to 5
minutes, shaking the pot, until they open. Remove mussels as they open so as not to
overcook any while waiting for the stubborn ones. Discard any that stay shut. Strain the
liquor through a damp cloth and keep it. Pick all the meat from the shells and discard the
shells. Keep the mussel meat covered, with a spoonful of the strained liquor, so it does not
dry out.

Start the soup - Cook the onion and fennel in the olive oil with a pinch of salt over
medium-low heat for 10 to 12 minutes, until soft but not colored. Add the garlic and fennel
seeds for 1 minute.

Simmer - Add the garbanzo beans, stock and mussel liquor, bring to a boil and simmer
gently for 20 minutes.

Blend - Blend until completely smooth, then pass through a sieve. It should coat a spoon
like light cream. Season with fresh lemon juice, black pepper and salt, tasting first, as the
mussel liquor is salty.

Serve - Warm the picked mussel meat in the hot soup for 30 seconds, off the heat. Ladle
into warm bowls, pile the mussels in the center, drizzle a ring of the spiced oil around them
and finish with fennel fronds.

Cook's note: never boil the soup once the mussels are in, or they turn rubbery. The
mussel liquor gives the soup its sea flavor, so a light white chicken stock, vegetable stock
or plain water all work; with water, taste and season a little more. The soup base keeps for
3 days in the fridge; steam the mussels on the day you serve it.
Recipe created by Chef Rick Bartram