#1,724: Chickpea Soup

I made this super simple soup at my mom's house over Christmas weekend and enjoyed it for lunch and dinner one night.  It was so simple to throw together and overall the flavors are pretty good.  I love that it's healthy and vegetarian, although you could easily add in some ground beef or turkey to give it more flavor too.  I would definitely make this one again.

I almost had to use dried rosemary in this dish because her local grocery store was out of the fresh stuff, but thankfully with this mild winter, her rosemary was still in her garden.  Although I still almost used dried rosemary because I was too lazy to walk to her garden in the cold!  LOL   But I knew if I didn't do it, she would eventually go for me and I didn't want to be THAT lazy.  Love my mom!  

1 bunch Swiss chard or Tuscan kale, center stems removed

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 carrots, peeled and diced

1 large onion, chopped

3 - 4 small ribs celery from the heart, chopped (I omitted)

3 tablespoons chopped rosemary

2 - 3 large cloves garlic, chopped

1 tsp. crushed red pepper

Salt and pepper

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

2 15 1/2 ounce cans chickpeas

1 28 ounce can petite diced tomatoes

Minced red or white onions, for garnish

Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, for garnish (I omitted, although it would be very good!)

(I did not do this step, instead I just chopped it finely with a knife). In a food processor, pulse the chard until finely chopped. Transfer to a medium bowl, rinse out the food processor and return it to the base.

In a soup pot, heat 3 tbsp. olive oil, over medium-high. Add the carrots, chopped onion, celery, rosemary, chopped garlic and crushed red pepper; season with salt and pepper. Cover, reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender but not brown, 7 to 8 minutes.

Stir in the stock, chickpeas and tomatoes. Transfer half the soup to the food processor and coarsely puree. Return to the pot and stir in the chard; season. Simmer, stirring often, until the flavors blend, about 5 minutes.

Garnish with raw onion and cheese if desired.