During the winter months I’m always on the lookout for new soup recipes. Soup is one of my favourite things to eat for lunch during the winter and it tends to be healthy. After a great cup of soup while at Angelica Kitchen in New York, I decided to pull out my copy of in search of a delicious soup that I could make myself. I was struck by the chickpea-garlic soup because who really makes chickpea soup? I was up for the challenge.
All was going well until it came time to puree the soup. Perhaps I didn’t have enough liquid leftover after cooking the chickpeas but my soup started to look like hot hummus! Luckily I had some broth on hand and thinned the soup with water and broth. The results were flavourful. The garlic taste wasn’t over the top but was a nice mix of mellow and garlicky. The consistency was a but grainy and not as smooth as I would have liked but I think my chickpeas weren’t tender enough.
I served this with a baguette with melted cheese on top. This meal was the epitome of comfort food. If I had a fireplace and a snuggie I would love to curl up with a hot cup of this soup in front of the fireplace while wearing my snuggie.
Chickpea-Garlic Soup with Rosemary and Olive Oil
2 cups chickpeas
6 cups water
1 stalk celery
1 bay leaf
1 branch fresh rosemary
3-4 fresh sage leaves
¼ cups extra virgin olive oil
2 cups diced onions
½ cup garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
¼ cup fresh lemon juice, strained
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Rinse chickpeas and combine in a 3-qt pressure cooker with 6 cups water, celery, bay leaf, rosemary, and sage.
Bring to full pressure, lower heat, and cook for 45 minutes. (Chickpeas can also be cooked in a pot until tender. Approx 2 hours).
Meanwhile, warm the olive oil in a heavy 3-qt saucepan over low heat.
Stir in onions and garlic; continue to cook over the lowest possible heat, stirring from time to time, until the chickpeas are done, up to 40 minutes.
When chickpeas are done, remove and discard the celery and herbs, then add the chickpeas, along with 3 cups cooking water, to the onions and garlic.
Purée the soup with lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.
(Recipe from “The Angelica Home Kitchen: Recipes and Rabble Rousings from an Organic Vegan Restaurant”)
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I’m a total soup-a-holic so this looks right up my alley! And how have I never heard of the Angelica Kitchen? Sounds like a trip to the library is in order for that cookbook!