Creamy Chickpea Soup
This recipe yields a supremely creamy, restaurant quality soup without either dairy or a high price tag. Utilizing dried chickpeas keeps the cost down while keeping the quality of the primary ingredient high. Cooking with dried beans is far easier than it sounds and while this soup has a long prep time (a little over 4 hours) very little of it is active, making this a great recipe for busy weekends or afternoons at home.
This method is probably not so great if you come home at 6pm and want dinner ready by 7. However, if you do want to make this in less time, sub two 15 oz cans of chickpeas and simmer them in the broth for about half an hour, then finish the recipe as usual. This soup is a great base soup for all sorts of Mediterranean-derived toppings as well as being eaten as-is with toasted pita or crusty bread for dipping. I also like to make this when I get a hold of some really good stuffed grape leaves or falafel and round out the meal with a small salad dressed with lemon juice and olive oil for a simple Middle Eastern inspired feast.
For another time-saving option, double the amount of chickpeas and split the batch when you drain them after the soak. Cook the remaining peas in water while you cook the first half in the broth and reserve for another use, such as making your own hummus or chickpea salad. Even at $1.75 or so a pound (what I paid for Whole Foods’ bulk conventional chickpeas), one pound of dry chickpeas should yield about 6 cups or so of cooked peas, which is roughly the equivalent of four cans. I usually pay about $1 a can, so the savings is pretty good even using the pricier beans from the upscale market instead of the 99 cent one pound bag I can get from the regular grocery store across the street, with the added bonus of no sodium being added to the beans I cook myself. Leftover beans freeze well for up to two months, but I’ve found that if you like hummus you’re pretty much never going to be faced with leftovers.
Creamy Chickpea Soup
Yield: about 6 cups
Ingredients:
½ pound dried chickpeas
4 cups veggie broth, chicken broth or water
2-3 Tablespoons tahini
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
1/8 tsp ground cumin
3-4 cloves garlic
Salt and pepper
Paprika
Optional toppings: Olive oil, roasted red pepper strips, whole roasted chickpeas, croutons, cooked kale or spinach, toasted pine nuts or pumpkin seeds, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, caramelized onions, fried shallots, green onions, chopped fresh parsley, etc.
Directions:
Rinse and sort chickpeas, discarding any broken beans. Place in a medium sized pot and fill with water to cover by at least two inches and bring to a boil. When boiling point is reached, cover the pot and turn off the heat and leave to sit for two hours. When the time is up, drain peas in a colander and return to pot along with broth or water. Bring to a boil once more, cover, and turn heat down to a simmer for two hours. When beans are cooked through add the tahini, lemon juice, cumin and garlic cloves, stirring to mix in the tahini. If you are lucky enough to have an immersion blender, break it out and puree the soup in the pan. If not, puree in batches in a blender, taking care not to fill the blender further than halfway and to remove the inner lid and cover the top with a towel to prevent steam pressure from blowing the top off. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. If you add more tahini give it another whirl through the blender. Pour into bowls and garnish with paprika and a drizzle of good olive oil or top with other desired toppings and serve with toasted pita for dipping.
