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Bowl of mesciua soup with chickpeas, white beans, and spelt grains in pale broth, olive oil swirl and cracked pepper on a wooden table

Mesciua della Spezia Soup with Chickpeas and Spelt

Dried chickpeas, cannellini beans, and spelt simmer in separate pots, then combine into a broth finished with raw olive oil and cracked black pepper.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 13 hours 50 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Italian (Ligurian)
Calories: 440
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the three pots
  • 150 g dried chickpeas soaked overnight
  • 100 g dried cannellini beans soaked overnight
  • 100 g pearled spelt (farro) soaked overnight
  • 2 fresh bay leaves one for each legume pot
  • 2 garlic cloves smashed, one per legume pot
  • fine sea salt to taste; add near the end of cooking
  • water about 2.5 L; divided among the three pots
To finish
  • 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling
  • black pepper freshly cracked, to taste
  • crusty bread to serve

Method
 

Prep the soak
  1. Drain and rinse the soaked chickpeas, cannellini beans, and spelt separately, keeping each in its own bowl.
Cook each component separately
  1. Put the chickpeas in a 3-quart / 2.8L saucepan with 1 smashed garlic clove, 1 bay leaf, and water to cover by 5 cm / 2 in. Bring to a bare simmer and cook uncovered for 70 to 90 minutes, topping up water as needed, until tender but still holding their shape.
  2. Repeat with the cannellini beans in a second 3-quart / 2.8L saucepan, using the remaining garlic clove and bay leaf. Simmer for 60 to 75 minutes until creamy inside but not falling apart.
  3. Put the spelt in a third 3-quart / 2.8L saucepan with water to cover by 5 cm / 2 in. Simmer for 35 to 40 minutes until tender with a slight chew, similar to al dente rice.
  4. Salt each pot only in the final 10 minutes of cooking. Salting earlier toughens the skins of dried legumes.
Combine and finish
  1. Once all three are cooked, ladle the chickpeas with their liquid, the beans with their liquid, and the spelt with a little of its liquid into a 6-quart / 5.7L stockpot.
  2. Set the stockpot over medium-low heat and stir gently to combine. Simmer together for 8 to 10 minutes so the flavors merge, adding a splash of water if it looks thicker than a hearty stew.
  3. Taste and adjust salt. Ladle into bowls, drizzle each with about 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, and finish with a generous crack of black pepper.
  4. Serve hot with crusty bread alongside.

Notes

  • Soak chickpeas, beans, and spelt in separate bowls overnight, about 12 hours.
  • Salt each pot only near the end of cooking, not at the start.
  • Keep some cooking liquid from each pot, it becomes the broth.
  • Combine all three pots only shortly before serving to keep textures distinct.