Aish Cooks

What’s better than a 1-pot-meal to rescue your workday evenings? Hearty soups that are super easy to fix might be just what you are looking for!

I have tried out a few soup-as-a-meal recipes, but this one remains my top favorite. There is something really attractive about chickpeas that makes it an easy choice – you get to add the bulk needed, sans meat, and they make an excellent plain palette to flavor as you like. When I first started looking for chickpea soup recipes, there were one too many Moroccan-spiced soups that seemed to use this legume. And this particular version got my vote cause it was comforting to find the familiar cumin, garlic and even ground coriander in the recipe! Turns out, the most popular North African spice – harissa – itself is typically made using lots of dry red chilies, ground coriander, cumin, garlic, lime juice and other spices. That’s what makes the flavors in this soup very similar to Indian food, but in a much more subtle way. Go ahead and give this one a try and you’ll have enough time to catch a movie with a bowlful when you’re done!

Moroccan Chickpea Soup

Adapted from Dave Lieberman’s recipe

Cooking Time: 45 minutes | Serves: 6

Ingredients:

1. 4-5 cups cooked chickpeas (see notes about cooking beans) or 45oz canned chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
2. 4 tbsp olive oil
3. 1 medium onion, chopped
4. 2 tbsp minced garlic (6 to 8 pods)
5. 2 dried bay leaves (optional)
6. 1 to 1.5 tsp red chili powder (can substitute with a combination of cayenne pepper and paprika), adjust to taste
7. 1 tsp ground cumin powder
8. 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes (or 4 cut tomatoes with juices)
9. 2 cups cut vegetables of choice (I used 1/2 cup zucchini, 3/4 cup beans, 1/4 cup green peas, 1/2 cup cut peppers)
10. salt to taste
11. juice of half lime
12. 1 cup fresh scallions, chopped into rings
13. 7-10 sprigs fresh cilantro or parsley, chopped fine

Method:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pan.
2. Add garlic and onions, along with a little salt, and cook on medium-high until fully cooked and transparent.
3. Add the chili powder and cumin powder, saute for a minute on medium heat.
4. Add the tomatoes, vegetables and 4 cups water (or stock).
5. Cook with lid-on, at medium heat, for about 20 minutes until the vegetables are fully cooked and the amount of liquid has reduced a bit.
6. Add the chickpeas, half of the scallions and fresh herbs and check the seasoning for salt and pepper.
7. Continue to cook for another 5-10 minutes to bring all the flavors together.
8. Optional step: mash the soup mixture partially with a hand blender / potato masher, or take a portion of the chickpeas and vegetables and mash it in a blender or food processor. This will thicken the soup and give it a nice consistency. You can opt not to do this and continue to cook the soup with the whole cut vegetables and chickpeas as well.
9. Add the lime juice, cook for a couple more minutes and turn off the heat.

Garnish each serving of the soup with some of the remaining cut scallions and herbs to create a fresh and refreshing topping to this awesome soup!

Notes:

1. If using raw chickpeas:
   1. Soak raw chickpeas overnight or at least for 6-8 hours.
   2. Drain the water used for soaking, add fresh water enough to cover the beans and stand about 1-2 inches over the chickpeas.
   3. Season with salt and cook until fully done, but not mushy.  It can take about 20 minutes on med-high heat.
   4. You can use a pressure cooker or regular pot with lid as well.
   5. Drain water and set aside to stop the cooking process.
2. Adding vegetables is optional.
3. Vegetable or chicken stock can be substituted for the water.