Lunch: Herbed Chickpea Bruschetta

Ingredients

1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and drained
14 garlic cloves, 4 cloves halved
1 ounce pancetta or prosciutto, diced
1/2 medium yellow onion, halved lengthwise
1/2 medium carrot, halved lengthwise
1/2 celery rib, halved lengthwise
3 sage leaves
1 small rosemary sprig, plus 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped leaves
1 bay leaf
1 dried chile de árbol
2 tablespoons kosher salt
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing and drizzling
About 30 baguette slices (1/2 inch thick)
1/2 teaspoon minced thyme leaves
Flaky sea salt, for garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 °. In a medium Dutch oven, combine the soaked chickpeas with the 10 whole garlic cloves, the pancetta, onion, carrot, celery, sage, rosemary sprig, bay leaf, chile, salt, 1/4 cup of the olive oil and 8 cups of water. Bring to a boil over high heat and stir. Cover and bake for about 2 hours, until the chickpeas are tender. Remove from the oven, uncover and let the chickpeas cool in the liquid for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, lightly brush the baguette slices with olive oil and arrange on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until lightly toasted, about 15 minutes. Rub the cut halves of garlic on one side of each toast.
Drain the chickpeas, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid; discard all the aromatics except the garlic. Transfer the chickpeas and garlic to a blender. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of olive oil and the reserved cooking liquid and puree until smooth.
Arrange the toasts on a platter. Dollop the chickpea puree on top and use a small spoon to form a little well in each dollop. Drizzle the bruschetta with olive oil, sprinkle with the chopped rosemary, minced thyme and sea salt and serve.

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