The perfect Fall and Winter Comfort food. This Hearty Chickpea Soup, made with loads of chickpeas, potato, tomatoes and spices is made creamy by blending half the ingredients, adding a little pasta makes it perfect. A meal all in itself!
If you are a chickpea lover than you should give this Chickpea Soup a try.
Hearty Chickpea Soup
Hearty Chickpea SoupWhen it comes to Fall and Winter, A delicious Creamy Soup or an Italian Beef Stew are always my favourite meals to make.
Nothing like a big bowl of soup to warm you up!
I also love to make beans and I prefer dried beans from Chickpeas, black beans, borlotti beans, cannellini beans to navy beans, they are so much better than canned beans.
Cooking Dried Beans
There are three different methods for cooking dried beans, the first which is the Traditional Method, is what I usually do and that is to soak the beans for 8 hours.
I place the dried beans (I rinse them in cold water first) in a bowl of cold water before I go to bed and in the morning they are ready for cooking, just drain, rinse and cook.
The second method is the Hot Soak method, place beans in a large pot and cover with 10 cups of water for every 2 cups of beans.
Then heat to boiling and continue to boil for 2-3 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and let stand for 4-24 hours, then drain the beans and cook.
The third method is the Fastest method which I have yet to try. Place the beans in a large pot and add 6 cups of water for every 2 cups of beans.
Then heat to boiling and continue to boil for 2-3 minutes. Remove the beans from the heat and let stand one hour. Drain the beans and rinse with cold water. Then cook until tender.
This Creamy Chickpea Soup was made creamy not by the addition of cream, but by blending half the ingredients and then adding it to the pot with the remaining mixture.
I also found that adding Orecchietti pasta was the perfect choice in this soup. I also cooked the pasta before adding it to the soup.
What to serve with this Hearty Chickpea Soup
Since this is such a filling Comfort food, I always find that one of the perfect side dishes is a Simple Tossed Salad but here are a few more to choose from …
Shredded Brussel Sprouts Salad
Roasted Vegetables, Italian style
If you are looking for a Comforting Meal this Fall or Winter I hope you give this Chickpea Soup a try and let me know what you think. Buon Appetito!
Hearty Chickpea Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 onion (minced)
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 1 stalk celery (chopped)
- 1 potato (chopped small)
- 2 1/4 cups chickpeas**
- 1 can tomatoes (1 cup)
- 3 cups water
- 1-2 tablespoons fresh parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon basil
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- hot pepper flakes to taste
- 1 1/2 cups cooked pasta (more or less)
**3/4 cups of dried chickpeas (should equal 2 1/4 cups) soaked for 8 hours in cold water, then drained and rinsed.
Instructions
- In a large pot add olive oil, minced onion, garlic and celery, sautee on low/medium heat for 2 minutes or until clear.
- Then add potatoes, chickpeas, tomatoes, water and spices simmer on low/medium until tender and thickened (approximately 60 minutes).
- In the last 15 minutes cook the pasta until al dente then drain well (I prefer Orecchiette pasta in this soup).
- Remove half the cooked soup and blend until smooth, return to the pot, add the pasta and heat until hot. Serve with fresh grated parmesan cheese if desired. Enjoy!
Margaret says
If you have a pressure cooker, that works also for a 4th method of cooking. I love pressure cooking my beans b/c then they’re much softer and especially for dense beans like Chickpeas or Soybeans. Softer beans like Kidney Beans or any other soft bean comes out much tenderer than cooking them in a regular pot. For Chickpeas or Soybeans, I usually cook them for about a half an hour once the gauge starts to rock. For softer beans, I usually only cook them about 10 – 15 min when the gauge starts rocking. This soup looks absolutely wonderful!
Rosemary says
Thanks Margaret, now I think I should get out my pressure cooker. Let me know if you make the soup.
Marie says
I make up a batch of this soup for my 17yo daughter for school lunches, which she takes in a soup flask. I add chicken stock, it’s absolutely delicious and keeps you filled up for ages. It’s also good to serve to friends for lunch as it looks quite impressive, served with a seeded roll.
Rosemary says
Hi Marie, thanks so much, great idea for a school lunch. 🙂
Alex says
I added some chicken stock, and some white beans and came out great!
Rosemary says
Hi Alex, good idea, glad you liked it.
Paul says
Very good, I did use bouillon powder in the liquid. Not sure where you got the calorie number from, my total for this dish is around 1400, so 350 per person…even better news!