Monday, November 30, 2009

Chickpea and Kale Soup

Time flies! November will pass by in a couple of hours, and I am so ready to welcome my favorite month of December! It's the busiest time of the year for work and it's time for SOUP! I've been in the mood for soup and my whole family really enjoyed this tasty chickpea soup for last night's supper, so I thought I should share it with you all.

This is my bowl of chickpea and kale soup topped with saltine crackers, Mmmm!

This is Nathan's bowl, chickpea and sweet corn soup, he asked for "MORE, please"!


My husband asked for spinach instead of kale and he went to the stove for seconds, YUM!
Chickpea and Kale Soup
Adapted from "Vegetable Soups from Deborah Madison's Kitchen"
by Deborah Madison
Ingredients for the chickpeas:
2 cups chickpeas, soaks
2 carrots, peeled (the recipe called for 1 carrot)
1 head of garlic, sliced crosswise in half
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried parsley (the recipe called for handful of parsley sprigs, tied together with string)
Ingredients for the seasonings:
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
4-5 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, finely diced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Pinch of dried thyme
3 garlic cloves, minced
Big bunch of kale (the recipe called for spinach)
Method:
1. Put chickpeas in a pot with the rest of the ingredients and 3 quarts water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, and simmer until the chickpeas are tender. Season with a teaspoon of salt and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a second soup pot. Add the onions, oregano, thyme, and salt. Cook over medium-low heat until softened, occasionally giving them a stir. Add the garlic toward the end.
3. Using a strainer, lift the cooked chickpeas into the pot with the onions and discard the rest of the aromatics. Strain the liquid and add 6 cups in the soup pot, setting the rest aside for the moment. Add another teaspoon of salt, then cover and simmer for 25 minutes. Puree the chickpeas and return them to the pot. If the soup seems too thick, thin it with any remaining liquid. Taste for salt and season with pepper.
4. Wilt the kale in a skillet in the water clinging to its leaves, then chop and add to the chickpeas. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, then serve with your favorite crackers. Enjoy!
Have a wonderful week, everyone!

29 comments:

  1. Comforting soup for this season .Lovely pictures.

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  2. Nice recipe,would love to have that one esp this season...looks delicious

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  3. It does look lovely! Soups always tastes better in the colder months.
    Its so great your son likes healthy food like this too.
    December is deffinately my favourite month too! From tomorrow I start wearing my christmas earrings and bring out the decorations :)

    Rose

    p.s. I havent forgotten about making the sushi...im just waiting for the holidays when I have more time :)

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  4. Yummy! Looks delicious and full of flavour!

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  5. That soup looks delicious! YUM!

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  6. Yummy, lovely soup for this season.

    hey here goes the link you asked for
    http://www.vazhayila.com/2009/10/mango-rice.html
    http://www.vazhayila.com/2009/07/coconut-rice-thenga-choru.html

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  7. Oraphan,

    The soup sounds filling and healthy. I love how you subbed kale for spinach ... so much more nutrition!

    I love the books by Deborah Madison too. Her Vegetarian for Everyone was my first veggie book a decade ago.

    If you run out of crackers sometimes I make rice or small pasta (separately) and add a scoop to the soup when I pack it for lunch, or warm it up in the microwave. It works like crackers and is easier to pack.

    talk to you soon,
    Alicia

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  8. I love love love kale! Your soup sounds delicious!

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  9. Loved the combination of chickpea and kale, very healthy and inviting !

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  10. We eat a lot of soup, and I often make potato kale soup, but haven't made chickpea kale soup. It looks wonderful!!

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  11. I love chickpeas and kale, and will have to try this soup!

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  12. This sounds so good, hearty and warm! There's no heat in the house because our furnace broke, so I could sure go for a bowl of this right about now.

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  13. Lov chick peas..soup with chick peas sounds gr8 and yummm

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  14. I’ve never made chick peas soup before but this recipe is calling my name...perfect for weather...Looks so healthy and delicious!

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  15. Oh this soup looks so healthy and delicious!

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  16. I'm so glad you all love this soup, please give this recipe a try and let me know how you like it. My son asked me to make it again for tomorrow night!

    Thank you so much, everyone for stopping by and for your kind words, I really appreciate your time:)

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  17. very nice idea of combining chickpea with kale....have never tried kale , guess this way I can have some..

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  18. I add kale in variety of curries that I make...never thought about adding them to soup. what a lovely idea...its very healthy. Will try ur version for sure:)

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  19. Oh yum! You really can't go wrong with a chickpea-and-greens based soup, and it's so perfect for this time of year. I usually prefer spinach but I am warming up to kale lately.

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  20. Chickpeas and kale = two of my favorite ingredients! Thanks for the recipe.

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  21. Wonderful! I love chickpeas and will try this soup soon.

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  22. That's making me warm..lovely combo :-)

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  23. What a yummy bowl of soup! We are crazy for soups right now -- I make them near-daily, varying the beans and greens in each batch. Yours looks so hearty and delicious!

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  24. What a lovely looking soup... chickpeas are such a great legume! Nice to come across another vegetarian blog too - keep it up! :)

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  25. This sounds really delicious! I love adding greens t soups!

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  26. Perfect time to eat soups, your soup looks really good!! I'll have to try some, thanks!

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