Rosemary Garlic Chickpea Soup

You know how I love chickpeas. Sometimes, I try a new recipe that doesn’t quite work out (like a couscous with chickpeas, fennel and citrus, which wasn’t all that good, or chickpea curry patties with a cucumber yogurt sauce, which were good, but not so good that I’d make them instead of any other chickpea patty I have). Other times, I try them prepared differently, like roasted and crispy. This time, with a new recipe that prepared chickpeas differently, I was rewarded enough to make up for all the ho-hum meals. This soup was awesome, super easy to make, and practically free (I have rosemary in the garden and everything else is basically a pantry staple, and a cheap one at that). I found the recipe on the aptly named Bowllicking. I served the soup with some sea salt pita chips. This recipe makes about 6 servings. (You’ll have to excuse the picture: I only took one at dinner, when it was dark and the soup had sloshed around in the bowl. I fully intended to style this dish a little better at lunch the next day, and it completely slipped my mind. I was just focused on eating it!)

3 Tbsp. grapeseed or other neutral-flavored oil
8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary (or thyme)
½ tsp. dried red pepper flakes (I used Korean pepper)
3 15-oz. cans of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
4 cups vegetable stock
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
acid to taste (start with 1 Tbsp. sherry vinegar or 2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice and go from there)
kosher salt

Garnish (optional):
a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
a pinch of red pepper flakes
freshly cracked black pepper
a sprig of fresh rosemary

Heat the grapeseed oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over low-medium heat. Add the garlic, rosemary and red pepper flakes, stirring frequently until the garlic just starts to brown and is fragrant (about 5 minutes). Add the drained chickpeas, continue stirring and cook for 2 minutes. Add the vegetable stock, bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.

Blend until smooth either using an immersion blender (my preference) or by transferring to a blender or food processor in batches. (This soup would probably be good even without being blended, but the blended chickpeas give it a wonderful creaminess.) Blend in the olive oil, acid, and kosher salt; I start with 1 tsp. salt and adjust to taste – it usually ends up closer to 1 ½ tsp., but it’s largely dependent on the saltiness of the stock used.

Ladle into bowls and garnish with olive oil, red pepper flakes, black pepper and rosemary.