Weeknight Chickpea Soup – Great Vegetarian Protein Meal

As you can tell from my posts the past several months, this has been the winter of soups!  From lentil to white bean to cauliflower, I've been loving the varieties of soup I have been making.  Soups are really a great way to prepare a substantive meal for days, with the added bonus that you can clean up the kitchen while they simmer!

The latest soup I made was a simple chickpea soup, modified from a New York Times recipe for Chickpea Stew with Orzo and Mustard Greens.  

I made the recipe a lot simpler by omitting the tomatoes, rosemary, and mustard greens, and substituting celery for fennel as it's what I had on hand.   With those simple changes, to the stovetop I went.

I started by chopping and then sautéing a simple mirepoix of carrots, onions, and celery.

Then I simply added the broth, chickpeas, and orzo, and cooked for about 15 minutes or until the flavors blended together.

I then finished the soup with parsley, scallions, parmesan, and salt / pepper.  

The result was a flavorful soup with some sharper herb notes from the fresh scallions and parsley.  

My only hesitation about making the soup again is that I don't quite know how I feel about the stronger flavor from chickpeas in a soup, compared to white beans.  

I will probably try this recipe at least one to two more times before making a final decision, but for those chickpea-lovers out there, enjoy!