Pic Above of Soup & Middle Eastern Flat Bread with a Zaat’ar & Dried Mint Topping
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Chickpea, how I love thee. I have had a love affair with the bean called Chickpea for ages, AKA the Garbanzo Bean. I just love the creamy taste and the versatility of this bean. You can use this bean in so many dishes from your choice of dips in appetizers, salads, soups & main dishes. Chickpea is a staple ingredient in my pantry! I also feel good about feeding my family these nutritious beans since they are high in protein & fiber but low in fat. I use dried chickpeas which I soak overnight and boil them until tender. I also freeze them in smaller portions in a Ziploc freezer bag, so they are ready to use whenever I need them. I have stopped using canned beans ever since I read conflicting reports about chemicals found in canned beans that can be harmful to our health.
Moroccan style Chickpea soup recipe was inspired by Claudia Roden’s Wonderful Book, “The New Book of Middle Eastern Food”. I love making this soup where all of the ingredients are usually present in my pantry & the refrigerator. I used an ingredient in this soup called “Harissa”. Harissa is a delicious North African Chili sauce which can be found easily in a Middle Eastern grocery stores.
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INGREDIENTS:
1 cup cooked Chickpeas or Garbanzo Beans
3-4 cups of Chicken Stock (or Vegetable Stock)
1 small Onion
4 cloves of Garlic
6-8 Ripe Cherry Tomatoes
1/2 tsp Saffron threads
1/2 tsp Roasted & Ground Cumin Seeds
less than 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
1/2 tsp Salt
2 tablespoon Olive Oil (extra for garnish at the time of serving)
1/2 tsp or less Harissa Sauce ( garnish on top at the time of serving)
1 tablespoon fresh Lemon Juice + Lemon wedges
1/4 cup chopped Cilantro
1/4 cup chopped Parsley
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METHOD:
Heat oil in a medim deep pot. Saute chopped onions & garlic until translucent. Add & Saute Cumin powder, Saffron threads, Salt, Black & Cayenne Pepper. Add the chopped up Cherry Tomatoes & Saute for few minutes. Now add the chickpeas along with the Chicken stock. Mix well and let the soup simmer on medium low heat for 30 minutes. Add chopped Cilantro, Parsley & lemon juice and let it simmer for 10 more minutes. At this point you can use a hand held blender to pulverize the chickpeas but still keep it chunky for texture. At this point if you feel the soup too thick then you can add more Chicken stock or water to dilute it a little. Serve the soup in a bowl, dollop on the Harissa sauce, Olive Oil & chopped Cilantro for Garnish. I like to serve on the side a Middle Eastern Flat Bread which has Zaa’tar & dried Mint topping! Delicious!
{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
looooove chickpeas!
i need harissa!
canned beans no good?
i still use them for hummus etc.
I’ll get you Harissa! Yeah some kind of a chemical in canned beans that can make you sick..so its wise not to use the canned beans.
Oooooh, I adore chickpeas as well. I’m shifting to cooking my own–I put them in the slow cooker and let them cook while I’m out and about. Your tip about freezing them is really smart. I never thought of that until you mentioned it.
Thanks Bria! Oooh I like your idea about cooking the chickpeas in the slow cooker…you are a genius! I will try that next time I cook them!!!
Delicious…just stunning!
Yum, this looks so hearty. Great tip about freezing the chickpeas. If I store them in the fridge for more than a few days they go bad, so I will definitely try the freezer.
I can eat the zaa’tar flatbreads/manakeesh everyday. Great combination!
PS: Your tasbeeh is so pretty, stunning.
Thanks Nadia! you are a sweetheart! My mom has been boiling & freezing her chickpeas for years BUT I was too lazy to do it. Thanks the tasbeeh is from Egypt!
Thank you Jamie!
I saw this post on Tastespotting, and wow! Your site is great! Sooo many delicious-looking recipes–I have to bookmark it.
The soup looks great, something nice to do with chickpeas instead of making hummus. Love your photos too!
What a beautiful set of photos…..this soup looks amazing…must have been really tasty too.
Thank you!!
Thanks Annie! Visit me again!
Thank you!
This looks amazing- I will have to look for harissa.
I always have cooked chickpeas in my freezer, I think I will take some out today to make some Maroccan style chickpea soup! Sounds super delicious.
Sara,
I saw your recipe on the Foodbuzz Top 9 today and wrtoe a short post about a reccomended wine pairing.
http://ancientfirewineblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/spicy-food-wine-parings.html
The recipe looks fantastic and the pictures made me hungry. I am going to make this dish real soon!
Thank You
Jason
I love your blog! Great recipes and fantastic photography, I will be following you from now on!
My mouth is watering! The food looks so tasty and rich with flavor. Great job capturing the taste of your creations in your photography.
Thank you Tiffany!
Hey Jason, I saw your pairing for the Chickpea Soup on your blog, Good Job! Thanks!
Thanks Micki!
This is so cool. I am from Morocco and love your soup. The pics are great as well.
Nisrine
Thanks Nisrine!
Beautiful photos! I love chickpeas too and think they’re a totally underrated legume. Glad to see you used dried ones, sooo much better than the canned ones!
Thank you so much & I have to say I love your site so much that I can spend hours reading your posts & looking at your gorgeous photography! Cheers!
CRAZY good!