spiced tomato & chickpea soup

photo credit: marthastewart.com

This is one of my two favorite soups (the other is carrot ginger soup), courtesy of Ms.Martha Stewart. I just realized I never posted this recipe!

• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 dried hot red chiles, chopped, or 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/8 teaspoon caraway seeds [optional]
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 can [15 ounces] chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 1/2 cups crushed canned tomatoes, with juice
• 1/2 cup drained jarred roasted red peppers, rinsed or 1 roasted red pepper, peeled and chopped
• 3 1/2 cups chicken stock [I use broth]
• Sour cream, for serving
• Parsley sprigs, for garnish

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, chilies or crushed red pepper, salt, coriander, and caraway; cook until just softened, about 3 minutes.

Stir in chickpeas, tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and stock. Simmer, stirring often, for 30 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Working in batches, puree soup in a blender or with an immersion blender. Rewarm if necessary. Divide among bowls, and top each with a dollop of sour cream and a sprig of parsley.

Notes: I haven’t been able to find caraway seeds anywhere, so I leave these out. The soup is still full of flavor! In addition, I use a home-roasted red pepper in lieu of the jarred kind. Lastly, I use chicken broth instead of stock, simply because TJ doesn’t carry stock. This can easily be made vegetarian by using vegetable broth instead of chicken broth

Enjoy 🙂