Asparagus Soup with Garbanzo Beans

I found this recipe through some internet searching on About.Com: Local Foods.  Kind of a strange place for me to be pulling recipes from but it was really good.  The chickpeas give it a creaminess without any actual cream or dairy.  And I happened to have hydrated some dried garbanzo beans earlier in the week and had leftovers that needed to be used.  I tweaked a couple of the ingredients slightly and added tabasco to my leftover portions for a little extra kick.

ASPARAGUS SOUP WITH GARBANZO BEANS
1 bunch asparagus
2 cloves garlic, minced and separated
4 cups homemade chicken stock (or a low sodium, organic prepared vegetable or chicken stock)
7 oz (about half a can) of garbanzo beans
salt
1/2 cup parsley
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp lemon zest
fresh ground black pepper

Rinse the asparagus, snap off any tough ends and separate the tips and stalks

In a stock pot bring the chicken stock to a boil. 

Add the asparagus stalks, 1 clove minced garlic, the chickpeas, salt and simmer until asparagus is very tender, about 5-8 minutes and let cool for a couple of minutes

Meanwhile, mince the parsley and combine with the remaining garlic clove, olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, black pepper and salt.  Set aside.

When the asparagus it tender, using an immersion blender, process the soup until smooth (if you don't have an immersion blender, process in a regular blender in batches and return to pot).  Return soup to a simmer, add the tips and cook about 3 minutes until the tips are tender.

Ladle into individual bowls and serve topped with the parlsey gremolata