Cicciari e patate

I'm back (!) with another one of my favorite one-pot meals. It's kinda like beans and macaroni, but substitute chickpeas for the beans and potatoes for the macaroni. Cicciari is what Calabrese call chickpeas. Italians call them ceci.  I've changed up the family recipe to "celebrate" the Mediterranean by adding lemon rind and cumin (my father: Lemon?! What's cumin?!).  Trust me, this is good:

1. In a medium sauce pan, saute a small red (or yellow) onion in olive oil for a few minutes.

2. Add a 16 oz. undrained can of chickpeas along with about a can full of water, making sure all the good stuff that's settled at the bottom is added to the pot.

3. Add a good-sized, heaping tablespoon of tomato paste, or about half of what's in those little cans. You can use tomato sauce instead, but paste is a better thickener.

4. Add some fresh basil, salt, ground black pepper, and a whole dried red hot pepper with the stem pulled of or with a slit in its side.

5. This is where it gets crazy: add a good pinch of ground cumin and a long, wide strip of lemon rind. 

6. Let it boil for a few minutes.  Then, add two diced medium-sized potatoes.

Cook until the potatoes are tender.  Don't be afraid of over-cooking, as over-cooked potatoes will only thicken the soup.  Serve in bowl, topped with olive oil. Do not add grated cheese!