Weekly Lunch: Moroccan-ish Chickpea Soup

My quest for new lunch ideas continues! It's still too early for spring veggies, so I'm making do with sweet potatoes and cauliflower, but with a different flavor base. This week's soup is inspired by a Moroccan chickpea tagine, with a spicy tomato-based broth and hearty winter vegetables. Rather than serving over the traditional couscous, I added some millet to the pot. Millet is similar enough in size to couscous, and is a whole grain to boot.

I am impressed that the millet has stayed chewy, even after a few days (unlike pasta, which keeps absorbing broth and becomes soggy overnight). I'll definitely put millet in soup again!

Moroccan-ish Chickpea Stew
Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2-3 celery stalks, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 tablespoons harissa paste (I used a storebought one, but I would love to make it sometime!)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed
1 bay leaf
1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped in 1/2" pieces

1 (15 oz.) can of diced tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted

4 cups vegetable stock
1/2 head cauliflower, chopped
1 1/2 cups cooked garbanzo beans (I used a 15 oz. can)
1/2 cup uncooked millet
1/4 cup raisins (or dried apricots or currants)
optional toppings: toasted slivered almonds and/or fresh cilantro

Directions:

In a large soup pot over medium heat, cook the onion, carrots and celery in the olive oil for 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, then add the harissa paste, cumin and coriander and cook for another minute.

Add the sweet potato, bay leaf, tomatoes and vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Add the cauliflower, garbanzo beans and millet, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes until the veggies are tender and the millet is fully cooked. Adjust with salt and pepper to taste.

Weekly Lunch: Black Eyed Pea, Sweet Potato and Kale Soup

Okay, so maybe I overreacted last week when I said I was tired of wintry foods. A few days of rain put me right back in the mood for warm soups and casseroles.

This soup has some serious nutritional powerhouses - sweet potato, kale, garlic, tomatoes, beans - and will definitely help me keep up my veggie intake.

I like using curly kale in soup, but I prefer dinosaur/lacinato kale for salads. It's totally normal to have two favorite kinds of kale, right?

This is my favorite kind of soup to make - chop a bunch of veggies, throw them in a pot, and simmer.

It may be wintry, but anything this colorful will easily cheer up lunchtime.



Black Eyed Pea, Sweet Potato and Kale Soup
Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
2 cloves garlic
1 large sweet potato
1 bunch kale
1 1/2 cups cooked black eyed peas (I used a 15 oz. can, drained and rinsed)
1-15 oz. can fire roasted tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
4 cups vegetable stock

Directions:
Chop all of the veggies and mince the garlic. I cut the kale in thin strips, about 1/4" wide and 2-3" long.
Over medium heat, cook the onion, carrot and celery in the olive oil in a large soup pot, 8-10 minutes until well softened and starting to brown. Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Add the sweet potato, herbs and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, then add the tomatoes, beans and kale, and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 15-20 minutes until everything is very tender. Add salt and pepper if desired.

Weekly Lunch: Easy Pumpkin Red Lentil Soup

I opened a giant can of pumpkin puree in order to make my savory pumpkin curry granola bars, so I wanted to incorporate pumpkin into my lunch this week.

Here's a quick and easy soup for those times when you want a hot lunch without a lot of work. The pumpkin doesn't really stand out in this soup, but adds a small amount of sweetness and lots of vitamin A. The tahini makes the soup very creamy - a tasty, vegan, high-protein alternative to actual cream.

Easy Pumpkin Red Lentil Soup
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1 cup red lentils
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 tablespoons tahini paste
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Toasted pumpkin seeds (for topping)

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium pot and cook the onion, carrot and celery for 8-10 minutes until well softened. Add the garlic and spices and cook for 1-2 minutes.
2. Rinse the lentils and add to the pot along with the vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer about 20-25 minutes until lentils are very tender.
3. Add the pumpkin puree and the tahini and heat through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve soup with pumpkin seeds sprinkled on top.

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Question: What is your favorite thing to make with pumpkin puree?

Weekly Lunch: Curried Sweet Potato and Chickpea Soup

You may know by now how much I love chickpeas in salads. Fortunately for me, chickpeas are also great in soups, whether left whole or blended to add creaminess. I like making blended soups as an excuse to break out the stick blender, which I love but only use once a month or so.

This week's lunch features garnet yams, chickpeas, coconut milk, onion, garlic and ginger. It is spiced simply with a Madras-style curry powder, amped up with white pepper and cayenne.

There were many vegetables to chop.

But once you're done chopping, most of the work is done. Everything needs to simmer for half an hour or so.

When the veggies are very tender, blend them to a smooth consistency. It takes a few minutes.

When you're done blending, add the coconut milk and blend some more.

This was a great warming soup for a cold day. And tons of vitamin A!

 

Curried Sweet Potato Soup

Makes 4 quarts

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil (or butter, or ghee)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1" piece of ginger root, peeled and minced
• 1 tablespoon Madras curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 pounds garnet yams, peeled and diced
• 4 -5 cups vegetable stock
• 15 ounces unsweetened coconut milk

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrot and celery and cook for 8-10 minutes until well softened. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1-2 minutes, then add the spices.
2. Add the yams and the vegetable stock and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes until yams are very tender.
3. Puree the soup with an immersion blender (or in a regular blender, in batches). When very smooth, add the coconut milk and blend together. Heat for 5-10 minutes, then serve.

Weekly Lunch: Orca Bean and Delicata Squash Soup

Have you ever tried to take a picture of a bowl of soup? I clearly need some practice. I'm looking at photos from people like Heidi Swanson and trying to learn what I can. Here are some things I've noticed:

• Pile the soup components above the broth if possible - broth is not photogenic
• Garnish is your friend (especially for monochrome soups)
• Don't take pictures in your cubicle with overhead fluorescent lighting (!)

Despite the picture, I promise that this is really tasty and warming for this very autumnal week we are having.

I found these cute orca beans and couldn't resist buying a bag. I cook dried beans only sporadically, but I eat beans so often I should really use dried ones more frequently. Please note that these were "fresh" dried beans and did not need to cook for too long, so I just cooked them with the rest of the soup ingredients. If your beans are older, you may want to cook them separately and add the fully cooked beans to your soup.

Orca Bean and Delicata Squash Soup
Makes 5 hearty servings

Ingredients:

1 cup dried orca beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1" piece of ginger root, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 small delicata squash, about 1 pound
1/4 of a kabocha squash, about 1/2 pound
1 can fire-roasted tomatoes
Several handfuls baby spinach, torn
3/4 cup cooked wheat berries (I had some left over, feel free to use barley or even quinoa)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Rinse the beans and pick out any small stones or misshapen beans. Place in a bowl and cover with 3-4 inches of cold water and let sit at room temperature 8 hours or overnight.

Drain the beans and set aside. In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes until the onions are soft and the edges are browned. Add the garlic and ginger, cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the cumin and cook for 30 seconds.

Add the drained beans and the stock. Cover the pot and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Check on the beans every 20 minutes or so. Peel, seed and chop the squashes into 3/4" chunks. When the beans are close but not quite tender, add the squash chunks and the tomatoes. Simmer for another 20-30 minutes until the squash is tender. Add the cooked wheat berries and the spinach. Taste and adjust salt and pepper if needed.