Moroccon Chickpea Soup

“There is nothing like a plate or a bowl of hot soup, it's wisp of aromatic steam making the nostrils quiver with anticipation, to dispel the depressing effects of a grueling day at the office or the shop, rain or snow in the streets, or bad news in the papers.”
Louis P. De Gouy, ‘The Soup Book’ (1949)

This quote encapsulates all that is great about a bowl of soup. Warming, soul food that brings joy and comfort. What's even better is that more often than not, soup is the product of the act of throwing a bunch of readily available ingredients into a big pot, which is topped up with ladles of good stock, seasoned and finally served with a big chunk of buttered crusty bread.

One of life’s simple pleasures.

This Moroccan Chickpea Soup relies on the array of Asian + Middle Eastern flavours; namely cumin, harissa paste, coriander and lemon which creates an incredibly aromatic, spicy yet fresh soup. Like any dish with spice, the flavours develop tremendously over time. And so if you do manage to save some soup for the following days, just be prepared to have your taste buds blown away by the depth of flavour of the soup!

The chickpeas and butter beans gives the soup more texture and in fact makes it quite a substantial meal. However if you’re not too keen on the idea of having a vegetarian soup, fry up some bacon/sausages/chicken pieces or even lamb with the onions and carry on the cooking process as described.

On another note, I can finally say that I own copies of Julia Child’s infamous books – Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I’m not sure why it’s taken me this long to take the plunge and purchase these books; it’s a shame I waited this long because the amount of information held in each page is astounding!  

Moroccan Chickpea Soup

Serves 4

Adapted from BBC Good Food

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

4 celery sticks, chopped

1 tsp cumin

1.5 tbsp harissa paste

600 ml hot vegetable stock

400g can chopped tomatoes

400g can chickpeas

100g butter beans

Juice and zest of half a lemon

Handful of coriander, roughly chopped

Method

1. Heat olive oil in a large pan. Add onions, garlic and celery gently for 10 minutes until softened, stirring frequently.
2. Add the cumin and harissa paste and stir.
3. Turn up the heat and add the vegetable stock, tomatoes, chickpeas. Season generously with freshly ground black pepper and salt.
4. Simmer for 8-10 minutes. Add the butter beans and lemon juice and simmer for a further 2 minutes.
5. Spoon into bowls and  top with chopped coriander and a sprinkling of lemon zest.