Wednesday, January 31, 2007

chickpea and tomato soup


deborah madison, who else?

rich, tangy, sweet, hearty and steaming hot, i love this soup. comfort in a ladle. and if there is anything i'm craving these days, it's comfort. i'm sure that once the screaming diaper machine arrives i will look back upon on these small-bladder-big-gut days with a nostalgic yearning. but the sleep depriver does not seem to be ready yet. it is too busy copping a free-ride and practicing amateur karate moves in the rent-free security of my poor distended entrails, probably sharpening the edges of it's ever expanding cranium into a perfect, four pointed square. this whole freaky science experiment is almost over (or is it just about to begin?), and let me tell you that i've remained myself throughout. no starry-eyed, belly-rubbing cooing. no annoying "miracle" talk. no bouts of sentimental weeping. none of it. no siree. knocked up, undeniably. hormonally demented, thankfully no.

i've not been posting very much because somehow food has just not been as, um, seductive to me as it usually is. energy is being drained from the host to sustain the alien within and, what with the flames of hell leaping up my throat at the mere sight of a bottle of hot sauce, well, eating just doesn't seem to be half the fun it used to be.

but this soup. this is something good. a nutrient and fiber filled meal in a bowl that only tastes better the longer it lingers in the refrigerator. it is just what the doctor ordered. the recipe calls for lentil or ful. i had neither so i omitted them. very tasty anyway.

spicy chickpea and tomato soup
olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon freshly toasted and ground cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
2 carrots, chopped
1 celery rib, diced
1 cup diced winter squash (butternut, etc.)
2 Tablespoons each chopped parsley and cilantro
1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
1 15 oz. can chickpeas, drained
1 15 oz. can ful medames or 1 cup cooked lentils
1 cup skinny noodles, cooked in salted water and drained

slowly saute the diced onion and spices in a lightly oiled soup pot (i usually do this bit in a non-sticky frying pan) and cook until softened. add the rest of the vegetables and continue to cook for about 10 minutes. at this point you can transfer the vegetable into a soup pot with the tomatoes (and the juices), chickpeas, ful/lentils and enough water to thin the soup out a bit. depending on whether the tomatoes came in a tomato sauce or thinner juice base, you may need more/less water. because my tomatoes were canned in sauce, i added 4-5 cups water to get it to a consistency to my liking. simmer for at least 20-30 minutes and season with salt and pepper. at the end add in the cooked noodles, parsley/cilantro and adjust seasonings to taste.

14 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

That's funny, I had a craving for a tomato and chickpea soup myself yesterday... I had some leftover garam masala and mustard seed-seasoned blend of tomato, chickpea, kale and onions that I had used to fill some savory pies. I added a bunch of water, some amchur powder (dried mango powder) for acidity, and and some rutabagas and golden beets, and got a nice complex soup that will be in my lunchbox at least a few more days.

11:53 PM  
Blogger Linda said...

I always have a craving for tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches! For this i might do grilled cheese and humus sandwiches though ;). this looks fantastic. can't wait to try it myself!

12:38 PM  
Blogger bazu said...

I have to say, your post was one of the funniest best-written I've read lately! I've never had a baby, but I have a suspicion that if I ever got pregnant, my attitude to it would be very similar to yours. I hope to be so level-headed and real, anyway. Thanks for sharing, and for never using the word 'miracle.' Good luck with everything!

9:21 PM  
Blogger Monkey Wrangler said...

Chickpeas rock! Love them, love them, hell, I put them in my chili sometimes I like 'em so much. Great post! Good to see you are back (sort of huh?) I've missed reading the humor and wit, and after my last comment of inquiring about the alien state and seeing no more posts I was a bit worried.

Our alien (numero dos) is coming along, a little over halfway baked, and re-configuring the internal organs of my wife as I write this (Karate-chop!). How much time left for you? Having been through this once, I'd strongly advise: sleep all you can now......Really. Stop reading this and go rest. And take care.

10:29 PM  
Blogger Brooke said...

Free-riding aliens...I totally relate.

1:42 PM  
Blogger Carrie™ said...

Sounds like a perfect soup for a winter day. When is the mothership landing and releasing the alien? Sounds like it will be sooner than later.

10:50 PM  
Blogger Twisted Cinderella said...

That sounds oh sooo yummy!

1:20 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

A great recipe for the cold weather.

8:37 AM  
Blogger bartholomew_napalm said...

"it is too busy copping a free-ride and practicing amateur karate moves in the rent-free security of my poor distended entrails, probably sharpening the edges of it's ever expanding cranium into a perfect, four pointed square."

this made me laugh and laugh and LAUGH. I can't wait to say things like this to freak out my fiance's family while I'm pregnant. Of course that won't be for a WHILE, not for a few more years, but I have to ready my responses to them in advance. They have what we might call a little "problem with boundaries". Like calling my fiance at 9am on a saturday to ask how my diet is going and how many more pounds I have lost.

I have lost "nunya" pounds. As in, NONE YA BUSINESS. BUTT OUT, NOSY!! Also stop calling at 9am on a saturday. that's when we Have The Sex. Thanks.

You take the most beautiful food pictures! You should be a food photographer to the stars! I mean, star food. obviously. Lovely. Good luck with the sleep-depriver of Square Headed evilness. HEE.

8:30 PM  
Blogger KleoPatra said...

Looks dynamite. Hope you're well! Love this post. Made me smile.

5:47 PM  
Blogger Michelle said...

just wondering if the alien love child has made it's appearance yet?

8:09 AM  
Blogger Chef Jeena said...

Great idea with chickpeas, nice blog:)


visit jeena's kitchen healthy recipe blog

12:29 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks Rae, made this soup today (albeit with a few modifications) and it turned out really well. I basically doubled the recipe except I ommited the rice noodles and the butternut squash in favor of an entire spaghetti squash-- that way it still had that noodle-like texture. Also used a can of small red Mexican beans and one can of kidney beans rather than the fava beans. Topped it off with some hot sauce, LOTS of cilantro and a healthy dose of vinegar to tang it up. Nice!

2:57 PM  
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12:59 AM  

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