Garlicky Chickpea Soup with a Squirt of Lemon
This is a modified recipe from Bon Appetit’s Chicken and Rice Soup with Garlicky Chili Oil. It has similar heartiness but with more flavor (i.e. chicken stock, parm (YUM), and extra veggies). The first time I made this soup, I was on the fence with the garlic chili oil — boy, was I wrong. It adds an element that I didn’t even know the soup needed.
The original recipe calls for chicken thighs, but I had dried chickpeas in my pantry (COVID prep, on prep, on prep) so I substituted the beans for the thighs and it turned out better (shocking I know — even my carnivore boyfriend devoured this chickpea soup). This soup is the comfort food you want with a flavor flare that you need.
Servings
6
Ingredients
Garlic Chili Oil
6 garlic cloves (sliced)
4 tsp of red pepper flakes
¼ cup of vegetable oil
Soup
2 tsp of butter
1 white onion (chopped)
2 celery stocks (chopped)
1 large carrot (chopped)
4 cups of chickpeas*
⅔ cup of risotto or short white rice
6 cups of chicken stock
2 cups of water
1 cup egg noodles (optional)
1 bunch of kale (torn into bite sized pieces)
½ cup of grated parmesan cheese (plus more to add on top)
¼ lemon (juice)
salt and pepper to taste
Garnish
dill (dried or fresh for garnish)
extra Parmesan
squirt of lemon
*If you have canned chickpeas, you can use them. If you use dried chickpeas soak them overnight for at least 8 hours.
Preparation
Chili Garlic Oil
Add your oil into your soup pot over medium high heat. Once it starts to shimmer, add your garlic slices. Simmer until golden, remove from heat and pour oil and garlic into a heat safe bowl. Mix in chili flakes and set aside.
Soup
Add butter to the pot that just had the garlic in and bring it back up to medium high heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots. Sweat for about 5 minutes. Add chickpeas, rice, stock, and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour (if you use canned chickpeas simmer for 20 minutes). Next, add noodles into the soup and cook as directed.
Once your noodles are done, add kale, lemon, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.
Serve
Add a teaspoon of dill or fresh dill sprigs, more parmesan cheese (of course) and drizzle a tablespoon of garlic chili oil on top of the soup. Wow your guests with a soup that tastes like it took days to make — and don’t worry I’ll keep your little secret!
Cheers,
JJ