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2. Season with salt and add the stock. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Cover and adjust the heat so that the mixture simmers. Cook until the potatoes are very tender, 20 to 25 minutes. If time allows, cool.

3. Put the mixture, in batches if necessary, in a blender and puree until smooth, adding a little water or stock if necessary if the mixture is too thick. The recipe can be prepared a day or two in advance up to this point, cooled, and then chilled or reheated to serve.

CHICKPEAS

LIKE ANY BEAN, chickpeas can be cooked without soaking, though they will cook somewhat more quickly if they are soaked for six to twelve hours beforehand. Soaked or not, cooking time for beans is somewhat unpredictable, depending largely on how much moisture they have lost during storage (older beans, being drier, require longer cooking times). Generally speaking, soaked chickpeas will take about one and a half hours to become tender; unsoaked ones will take about thirty minutes longer.

Canned chickpeas do not have as much flavor as cooked dried chickpeas, but they are incomparably more convenient, as dried chickpeas can take three hours to soften. Your choice.

CHICKPEA SOUP WITH SAUSAGE

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: ABOUT 2 HOURS

THE COOKING LIQUID of chickpeas, unlike that of most other beans, tastes so good that it makes the basis of a decent soup. Season the beans and their stock as they cook—with garlic, herbs, and some aromatic vegetables, for example—and you have the basis of a great soup. Puree some of the cooked chickpeas, then stir them back into the soup, and it becomes deceptively, even sublimely, creamy.

1½ cups dried chickpeas

5 garlic cloves, sliced

3 fresh rosemary or thyme sprigs

1 medium to large carrot, cut into small dice

1 celery stalk, trimmed and cut into small dice

1 medium onion, cut into small dice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon minced garlic

½ pound sausage, grilled or broiled and thinly sliced (optional)

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, or to taste

1. If you have the time, soak the chickpeas for several hours or overnight in water to cover (if not, don’t worry). Combine the chickpeas, sliced garlic, and herb in a large saucepan with fresh water to cover by at least 2 inches. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat, and simmer, partially covered, for at least 1 hour, or until fairly tender. Add water if it is boiling off and skim any foam that rises to the top of the pot.

2. Scoop out the herbs and add the carrot, celery, onion, salt, and pepper to the pot. Continue to cook until the chickpeas and vegetables are soft, at least another 20 minutes. Remove about half the chickpeas and vegetables and carefully puree in a blender with enough of the water to allow the machine to do its work. Return the puree to the soup and stir; reheat with the minced garlic, adding water if the mixture is too thick.

3. Stir in the sausage if you are using it and cook for a few minutes longer. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then serve, drizzled with the olive oil.

VARIATION

This soup can be made with canned chickpeas: Substitute 4 cups canned chickpeas for the dried chickpeas and combine with 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock and the vegetables as in step 2. Cook until the vegetables are tender, then proceed as directed.

WHOLE-MEAL CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP, CHINESE STYLE

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

TIME: 30 MINUTES

FRESH ASIAN-STYLE noodles are everywhere these days—even supermarkets—and they’re ideal for soups, because you can cook them right in the broth. It takes only a few minutes, and, unlike dried noodles, they won’t make the broth too starchy. Do not overcook the noodles; if you use thin ones, they’ll be ready almost immediately after you add them to the simmering stock.

Start with canned chicken stock if you must, but don’t skip the step of simmering it briefly with the garlic and ginger, which will give it a decidedly Asian flavor.

6 cups chicken stock

10 slices peeled fresh ginger

2 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly crushed

1 tablespoon peanut or