1.21.2011

weekly recipes, and winter soup

This has been the year of discovering soups for me.  They're cheap, low-maintenance, and there's always leftovers.  So far my favorites have been tomato basil soup, and potato cream soup, but this chickpea soup is FAR healthier (no cream added!).  I finally tried a recipe from this Rose Bakery (a cafe in Paris) cookbook.  Try this soup with a chunk of fancy bread.  You won't be sorry.
(recipe below)




SPICED CHICKPEA AND LEMON SOUP
 serves 6


2 cups chickpeas (soaked overnight in 4 cups water with a pinch of baking soda)
4 T. extra virgin olive oil
2 onions, diced
2 sticks celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp. salt
pinch of ground black pepper
1 T. ground cumin
1 dried red chili, crushed
6 cups vegetable stock
2 T. lemon juice
pinch of sugar

Drain the chickpeas and put them in a saucepan with enough cold water to cover.  Bring to a boil, then simmer till soft - about 1-2 hours.

Towards the end of the cooking time, heat the oil in another saucepan and cook the onions, celery, and carrot over a low, stirring occasionally, till the vegetables soften and are just beginning to turn golden.

Add the garlic, salt, pepper, ground cumin, and chili.  Stir for a few minutes, then add the chickpeas and enough chickpea liquid and stock to cover the vegetables by 1 1/4 inches.
Simmer for about 30 minutes, then blend to a smooth puree.  Add more stock if the soup is too thick.

Taste and season if necessary.

Garnish:
lemon wedges, coriander leaves, or a sprinkling of cumin and sesame seeds.

1 comment:

  1. Can I make this with canned chickpeas? I have 4 cans from when I was obessed with hummus...

    ReplyDelete

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