A little late, but, while we’re still in the right season, I wanted to share this soup, from The Italian Country Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper, which is warm, hearty, vegetarian (in fact, vegan), and tons of flavor for very little effort. You do have to like chickpeas — seriously, it’s just a bowl of chickpeas — and you must use dried ones, not canned.

You’re probably going to look at the recipe and go ‘What? That’s so boring,’ but please, trust me. You are going to love this soup!

Serves 4-6

14 oz. dried chickpeas, soaked overnight in the refrigerator in water to cover by 2 inches
Cold water
1 1/2 TB extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
1 medium to large onion, minced
2 6-inch branches fresh rosemary
6 large fresh sage leaves
1 large bay leaf
1 large clove garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley leaves, coarsely chopped

1. Drain and rinse the chickpeas and put them in a soup pot. Add water to cover by 2 inches. Cover and bring to a slow simmer.

2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, rosemary, sage, and bay. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the onion is a deep golden color. Stir in the garlic and cook for a few seconds.

3. Stir in about 1/2 cup of the chickpea liquid into the onion pan, swish it around to pick up any brown bits, and dump everything into the chickpea pot. Simmer, covered, for 3 hours, or until the chickpeas are tender, but not falling apart. Season generously with salt (but not too generously – it should taste good, not salty) and simmer uncovered for another 30 minutes.

4. Remove the herbs, puree 2/3rds of the mixture in a blender, then stir it back into the pot. Adjust the seasoning, then ladle into bowls, topping with parsley, black pepper, and a little more olive oil if you like.

Okay, real talk: you don’t have to soak the chickpeas overnight. If you forgot or didn’t plan ahead, just go ahead with the recipe anyway. Ask me how I know. Also, the cooking time is kind of dependent on your chickpeas, but when I made it it only took two hours to cook to doneness. You don’t have to puree it (I didn’t this time), it’s honestly good either way, and it’s still good even if you completely forget the parsley, which I obviously did.

This is just a souped-up (sorry/not sorry) version of Corn and Potato Soup, which my mom used to make us for lunch sometimes. It’s hearty, and can be made completely vegetarian, if that’s your thing. It’s fantastic with fresh corn, but it’s still delicious made with frozen corn.

Serves 4-6 for dinner

4 TB butter, olive oil, or a combination of the two
1 onion, finely chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp each dried sage and thyme
6 red potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch-ish cubes
4 cups broth (veggie or chicken)
3 cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen
1/2 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 to 1/3 cup chopped flat parsley leaves

1. Melt the butter over medium heat in a soup pot. Add the onion, carrot, and celery, and cook until soft and golden. Add the garlic and herbs, and cook for 30 seconds, or until fragrant.

2. Add the potatoes, stir everything, then add the broth, and crank the heat up to high. The broth should just barely cover the potatoes. Season with salt. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

3. Add the corn and the cream, and cook for five more minutes, or until cooked/heated through. Taste, and add salt and pepper, and more sage and thyme, if needed. Stir in the parsley and serve.

Notes: If you want to, you can start with about 4 oz. diced bacon instead of the butter. You can also use fresh herbs instead of, or in addition to, the dried ones. I don’t peel the potatoes, but you can, if you like. This time, I also threw in some diced sweet potato (that I did peel), about five minutes after the potato came to a boil.