Curried Chickpea Soup

Though I'm pretty picky with my soups, making soup makes me feel really happy and peaceful. I love that I can just quickly and unevenly chop up vegetables, throw them into a pot with spices and herbs, simmer away and have delicious smells emanate. I love seeing the floating vegetables and bobbing bay leaves. Ahh soup, why can't you always be as delicious as this curried chickpea one?


If this sounds good, you might also like:
Hungarian Mushroom Soup
Curried Split Pea Soup
Thai Coconut Corn Stew
White Bean and Roasted Garlic Soup

Curried Chickpea Soup
Adapted from Rebar

Serves 8

8 cups vegetable stock
1 tbsp oil
1 yellow onion, finely diced
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 bay leaves
8 garlic cloves
3 tbsp minced ginger
1 jalapeno peppers, seeded (more if you like it spicy)
1 red pepper
6 ripe tomatoes
1 tsp cumin, ground
1 tsp coriander, ground
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp turmeric
3 cups canned chickpeas
1/2 can coconut milk
1/2 bunch cilantro, minced

1. Heat the oil in a soup pot and add onion, 1 tsp salt and bay leaves. Saute until the onions are soft and golden. Meanwhile, place the garlic, ginger, jalapenos, pepper and tomatoes in a food processor and pulse until the vegetables form a rough puree. Set aside.

2. Add all the spices to the sauteed onions and continue cooking and stirring for 5 minutes. Add the vegetable puree and another 1/2 teaspoon of salt and simmer until small blobs of oil pool on the surface. Add the chickpeas and stock and bring to a simmer. Cook several minutes, then add the coconut milk. With an immersion blender or regular blender, puree a portion of the soup to thicken it. Simmer and season to taste with salt and crackked pepper. Add chopped cilantro just before serving.