Chickpea Soup With Orzo and Spinach

How about a hearty chickpea soup for New Year’s Eve or  New Year’s Day?

This recipe features all sorts of good vegetables to launch your new year–chickpeas, carrots, fennel, spinach and on and on. If you sprinkle some grated Parmesan over the soup at serving time and garnish it with a couple slices of jalapeno pepper, you will have a healthy feast to celebrate the first days of 2019.

There are many interesting New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day food traditions here in the United States and around the world.  My mother, who was from Mississippi, always served black-eyed peas and greens on New Year’s Day, for example. There was a whole lot of symbolism going on in those meals. In the American South, black-eyed peas symbolized coins and the greens were served because they were the color of money. Cornbread, golden-colored like…well…gold, was also served.  Mother was a strict taskmaster and it was clearly understood that if we ate these foods we had a shot at good luck and prosperity in the new year–something my blue-collar family desperately needed most years.  I choked down a lot of collard greens and mustard greens during those family New Year’s Day dinners in the hope of better days in the new year.

Whatever you are eating to celebrate the new year, Juliet and I wish you a happy new year from here at Blue Cayenne. Our hope is that you find you much happiness in the new year and a whole lot of good cooking.

Chickpea Soup With Orzo And Spinach

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Ingredients

• 2-3 T. extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 medium carrots (peeled and chopped)
• 1 small fennel bub (or 2 celery stalks-chopped)
• 1 medium onion (chopped)
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 t. minced fresh rosemary (optional--you can use less to your taste)
• 2 C. vegetable broth
• 2 C. water
• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas (rinsed and drained)
• 3/4 C. roughly chopped cherry or grape tomatoes
• 1/2 C. orzo
• 1 quart loosely packed baby spinach (or mustard greens)
• Salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
• Sliced jalapeno peppers to garnish
• Grated Parmesan to garnish

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a large soup pot. Add the carrots, fennel (or celery) and onion to the hot oil. Saute until the vegetables are tender. This will take about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic, red pepper and rosemary if you are using it. Cook for 2 minutes. Add the vegetable broth plus two cups of water and bring the soup to a boil. Add the chickpeas, tomatoes and orzo to the boiling soup. Reduce heat of soup to a simmer, cover and cook for about 10 minutes. Check to be sure the orzo is tender. Uncover the soup and add the greens to the simmering soup. Cook until the greens are soft. This will take about 2 minutes.
2. Add more water (I added about 2 cups) to make the thick vegetable mixture more like a soup. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Garnish with grated cheese, sliced jalapeno, and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve.

Nutrition

Calories

164 cal

Fat

3 g

Carbs

27 g

Protein

8 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

7.8.1.2

170

https://bluecayenne.com/chickpea-soup-with-orzo-and-spinach

Here is the link to the original recipe: Chickpea Soup with Orzo.