Easy Delicious Chick Pea Soup
Easy Delicious Chick Pea Soup
Ana's Corner
I love chick peas...I just think they are so yummy. Up until now I've only used chickpeas to make homemade hummus (recipe HERE) and I typically use canned chick peas. Then, I learned that you can roast chick peas in the oven (400 degrees for like 35 minutes) covered in any combination of seasonings (I did oil, cinnamon, and sugar) for a tasty treat. That was delicious.
I had heard that canned chick peas taste like crap compared to real chickpeas, so now that I have my awesome pressure cooker, I decided to boil up a batch of fresh chickpeas. They were SO good. In my pressure cooker it took about 7 minutes to cook a 2 pound bag. I know what you're thinking. Why on earth would she cook TWO POUNDS of chick peas at one time. Whoops. I really wasn't thinking. That's a lotttttttt of chick peas for ya. The thing with beans is, they look realllllllly small....but then by the time that you soak them overnight and cook them they are HUMONGOUS and you have like five times more beans than you started with. Anywho.
I suddenly found myself with lots of chickpeas and not a lot of ideas. I ate several handfuls just raw (because they were that good). I plan to make hummus with some of them (but haven't found the energy yet). As I sat there munching on handfuls of now cold chickpeas, I thought to myself "if only these were covered in a yummy sauce." And so was born the decision to make soup. And what a yummy chick peas soup it was. Even my HUSBAND who HATES chickpeas ate it and loved it (granted, he said it would be better with chicken instead of chick peas :-P). And so, here it is:
Easy Delicious Chick Pea Soup
First off, you need to start a day early (unless you're using canned chick peas). Soak 1 pound of raw chick peas in a pot of water overnight. Cook until soft (7 minutes in a pressure cooker once it's pressurized and you lower heat to medium, probably an hour on the stove?)--I cooked mine in salted water that just covered the peas.
Easy Delicious Chick Pea Soup
Olive oil
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp red pepper
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes (don't drain sauce)
1 heaping tsp chicken bouillon powder (my prefered method, equivalent to a few cans or a few cubes of chicken bouillon)
water
salt
pepper
(one pound chick peas from above, this would be two-three cans?)
spinach (optional, I omitted this because I didn't have any)
Sautee the onion and garlic in olive oil until translucent.
Add in all of the spices (including bouillon) and the tomatoes and stir until mixed.
Thin out with water, pouring slowly while stirring over medium heat.
Add chick peas (add more water if chick peas aren't covered). Add salt, pepper (and more bouillon if necessary), to taste. Let simmer until chick peas are heated through. Add chopped spinach (according to personal preferences) 5-10 minutes before serving, letting it cook just until wilted.
I thought this soup had the yummiest flavor...it was just what I wanted to sauce up my chick peas :-) I hope you enjoy!
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