Moroccan Chickpea Soup

photo by Annacia

- Ready In:
- 1hr 15mins
- Ingredients:
- 16
- Serves:
-
4
ingredients
- 1 cup dried garbanzo beans, washed and picked over (1/2 pound or use equivalent amount of canned chickpeas)
- 1⁄2 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1⁄4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 1⁄4 teaspoon powdered saffron
- 1⁄4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1⁄4 teaspoon ground ginger or 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1⁄2 cup grated onion
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste (I use ketchup if all else fails)
- 2 large red potatoes, unpeeled and diced
- 1⁄4 - 1⁄2 teaspoon harissa (to taste) or 1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (to taste)
- 2 2 quarts vegetable stock or 2 quarts lamb stock
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
- salt
- 1⁄4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1⁄4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (to garnish)
directions
- Soak the dried chickpeas overnight and drain or if using canned chickpeas, rinse and drain thoroughly.
- Combine the chickpeas with all the other ingredients except the salt, lemon juice, and cilantro and bring to an almost boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer partially covered, for 1 1/2 hours, until the beans are tender, less time if using canned chickpeas. Add salt to taste.
- Remove 2 cups of the soup mixture and puree in a blender, return to the pot and mix well.
- (Or use an immersion blender to facilitate.).
- Just before serving, stir in the lemon juice and garnish with fresh cilantro.
- Adjust seasonings.
- The soup will keep in refrigerator 3 to 5 days.
- Freezes well.
Questions & Replies

Got a question?
Share it with the community!
Reviews
-
I absolutely loved this soup! I didn't add harissa but rather some dashes of tabasco sauce into my own bowl and I thought the kick it added was wonderful as well as the lemon juice. I also put in 2 tablespoons of olive oil to add body to the soup a little ground coriander as I can't get fresh. Unfortunately my hubby and kids didn't like it at all (they are not fans of Moroccan cuisine) so I will have to give it 4 stars overall. Thanks for the recipe.
-
When I first reviewed this recipe back in 2005, I pureed the whole potful. This time I didn't puree any of it (yet) I used dried chickpeas, homemade vegetable stock and water in equal amounts. No harissa or cayenne--but a bit of a spice mix of UmmBinat's that just smelled right for this soup. I ate a bowl of it last night--with a squeeze of lemon juice and a sprinkling of freshly chopped cilantro and a nice hit of Sriracha. It was really delicious and it just tasted so healthy. I have portion sized containers in the freezer now-I'll try pureeing a small amount of the chickpeas when I have it next. I would note that if you use dried chickpeas and all water or homemade stock, you'll need to add more salt, as the canned chickpeas have a fair amount of sodium.
-
Really delicious. I used a Yukon Gold potato and skipped the tomato paste for personal taste and subbed Ras elHanout for the harissa (because I didn't have any). The end result was that I got a lovely golden soup that is a pure pleasure. I made a 2 serving amount and I'm sure that I have enough soup for 6! YAY, leftovers to meld and be even better tomorrow. Oh yes, and I used veggie stock.
see 4 more reviews
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
COOKGIRl
United States