Chickpea Soup with Swiss Chard

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Ingredients

1. 6 cups drained and rinsed canned chickpeas (three 19-ounce cans)
2. 3 cups canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock, more if needed
3. 3 tablespoons olive oil
4. 1 carrot, chopped
5. 1 onion, chopped
6. 1 rib celery, chopped
7. 4 cloves garlic, minced
8. 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
9. 1 bay leaf
10. Pinch dried red-pepper flakes
11. 1 cup canned tomatoes in thick puree, chopped
12. 1/2 cup tubetti or other small macaroni
13. 1 teaspoon salt
14. 1/2 pound Swiss chard, tough stems removed, leaves cut into 1-inch pieces
15. 1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper

1. Puree half of the chickpeas with 1 1/2 cups of the broth in a blender or food processor. In a large pot, heat the oil over moderately low heat. Add the carrot, onion, celery, garlic, and rosemary and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables start to soften, about 5 minutes.
2. Stir in the remaining 1 1/2 cups broth, the pureed chickpeas, whole chickpeas, bay leaf, red-pepper flakes, tomatoes, tubetti, and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes.
3. Add the Swiss chard to the pot. Simmer until the chard is tender and the pasta is done, 5 to 10 minutes longer. Remove the bay leaf. Stir in the black pepper. If the soup thickens too much on standing, stir in more broth or water.