Chickpeas and beans Soup ''Mesciua''

Liguria

Cooking time: 4 hours Difficulty: Ingredients, amounts for 6 people: dried chick peas/garbanzo beans: 9 oz dried white beans: 9 oz spelt/cracked wheat: 3 ½ oz olive oil: pepper: salt:

Preparation: Put the chick-peas, beans and pearl barley to soak, separately, in water the evening before. In lightly salted water cook the pearl barley and chick-peas for about 3 hours. After about half an hour boil the beans and cook for about 2 hours. When they are all cooked pour the beans and their liquid into the pan with the chick-peas and pearl barley (the total liquid should be about 3½ pints) leave to cook again for about fifteen minutes adding salt to taste. Pour the Mesciua into a tureen and season with olive oil and pepper before serving.