Saturday 17 August 2013

Spicy Italian Chick-Pea Soup

Rocket & Roses HQ Play List:

Thunder ~ My Brother Jake
Martina McBride ~ Don't Cost A Dime
Zac Brown Band ~ It's Not OK
Courtyard Hounds ~ Then Again
Doris Day ~ Love Somebody
Janet Jackson ~ Come Back To Me
INXS ~ Burn For You
Chris Cornell ~ Your Soul Today
Tina Dico ~ Nobody's Man
Michael Kiwanuka ~ I'll Get Along
INXS ~ What You Need
Madeleine Peyroux ~ California Rain
Foo Fighters ~ For All The Cows
Bob Marley & The Wailers ~ Cheer Up

Well I survived the first day of the smoothies and although I had some problems with the textures, I am very happy with this achievement. The first soup on the list was a great recipe that I had never tried before from Joanne Stepaniak's The Vegan Deli. I chose this recipe because it had my essential comfort food ingredient...chick peas. Yes, I am still hopelessly addicted. lol. I knew this new eating plan was going to be tough so I wanted something to look forward to and this soup did the trick. Even if it did have a surprise ingredient...lol But that I will explain in a minute.

This soup is rich and comforting. The liquid holds the flavours which are intense and many layered...you get the spicy hit, herb layer and the richness from the tomato and then you get the comfort from the plump chick peas, garlic and succulent onions. Although it's rich in flavours it's very light on the stomach so for me it was a huge Win/Win. I am looking forward to my bowl of this delicious soup tonight.

Now for the surprise ingredient...lol. ML might just kill me for this! I couldn't place the flavour I wasn't expecting from this soup. ML then started to smile and go a little red "...ah yes...there is a reason for that!..." I believe I raised an eyebrow and stopped the next spoonful from going to my lips...did I want to know? lol. Apparently in ML's sleepy haste when making the soup in the morning....Tarragon was pulled from the Herb Chest instead of Thyme. And ML only realised the mistake after it had been added and decided to carry on with the recipe as it was..adding the Thyme anyway. Now I really enjoyed it with the Tarragon so I'm adding it to the recipe as an optional extra. lol. The choice is yours...

Spicy Italian Chick-Pea Soup
Spicy Italian Chick-Pea Soup  Serves 6
(Recipe from A Vegan Deli/Stepaniak)

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 tsp crushed garlic
3 tins of chick peas, rinsed and drained
6 cups of water
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried tarragon (optional...lmao ML!)
salt and pepper to taste
generous pinch of cayenne pepper

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot. Add the onion and sauté until tender. Add the garlic and sauté for one minute.

Stir in the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil and reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 40 minutes. Stirring occasionally. Serve hot garnished with fresh parsley if desired.

Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope your weekend is a great one...

~Red~